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ABSTRACT BOOK 1 Introduction Dear Teacher Educators and Educational Scientists, The amelioration of teacher education (for pre-service and in-service educators) is closely related to the improvement of the quality and the effectiveness of the education in general. The demand for improvement in teacher education and training has, nowadays, become even more important as it constitutes a significant challenge for the teachers in order to respond to a highly dynamic and constantly changing field. The changes occurring in the economic, political and social fields have a direct impact on teachers’ personal and professional development and, thus, affect their professional identity. In-service educators often try to cope with new conditions as they attempt to manage a pristine and staggering framework of changes instead of acting as professionals with professional identity, knowledge and skills. The reflection on the appropriate model of teacher education that would enable them to respond to the new roles and responsibilities adequately and face all the challenges and changes in their work is an endless race, both nationally and internationally. Several guidelines and directions have been proposed in teacher education. These guidelines reflect the social, political, cultural and economic conditions that prevail at given times, and the various advancement in the humanities and social and technological sciences. Within this complex context, teachers are often asked to adapt their professional practices towards society and educational institutions, following formal and informal methods. Reinforcing pre-service and in-service teachers' capacity of critical reflection on institutions and processes and aiding the acquisition of research skills seem to be the only solution in order to help them understand the educational process and cope with the problems and requirements of the modern social, political, economic, cultural and educational reality. Given these state of affairs, the main goal of 3rd ISNITE 2015 is to contribute to the dialogue at an international level, for the improvement of initial and continuous teacher education, presenting studies on professionalism, professional identity and professional development, dimensions that compose the professional status of teachers and define their professional existence. We aim to create a warm environment where participants share both theoretical and practical perspectives in the field of teacher education in order to encourage the interaction among researchers, practitioners and teacher educators. Finally, the 3rd ISNITE 2015 will provide the participants an excellent opportunity to keep up with the latest developments in teacher education and collectively create a foundation for future studies in this field. The theme of the symposium has been titled as “New Issues on Teacher Education”. i Themes: Teacher Education Policies and Practices Teacher education policies and practices in different countries Classroom management - Leadership Changing World and Teacher Qualities/Standards Standards in the profession of teaching Pre-Service Education of Teachers Different trends in teacher education programs Quality in teacher education: Issues of measurement Alternative programs for teacher education In-Service Education of Teachers Professional development problems of teachers and different approaches to them Integration of Information and Communication Technologies with programs Distant education practices in teachers’ professional development Different approaches to the professional development of teachers: Problems and solutions Problems of Teachers and Teacher Educators The role of research in teacher education The emergence of teacher communities as part of the changing world of teachers and teacher educators. The symposium, which is organized by the Department of Early Childhood Education & the Department of Primary Education & the Laboratory of Theoretical and Applied Pedagogy of the University of Thessaly, and is also supported by the “Journal of Teacher Education and Educators”. Prof. Domna Mika Kakana Assoc. Prof. Feyyat Gökçe Chairwoman of 3rd ISNITE 2015 Chief Editor Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, ii President of Symposium Prof. Domna-Mika KAKANA University of Thessaly, GR Co-President of Symposium Assoc. Prof. Feyyat GÖKÇE Editor, Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, TR Advisory Board Prof. Chi Kin John LEE Prof. Gary MCCULLOCH Prof. Kenneth ZEICHNER Prof. Miriam Ben-PERETZ Prof. Mustafa ÖZCAN Lawyer, Özce ÖZTÜRK(JTEE) Hong Kong Institute of Education, CN. University of London, UK University of Washington, USA University of Haifa, IL MEF University, TR The Body of Lawyer, TR Organizing Committee Prof. Salih ÇEPNİ Prof. İrfan ERDOGAN Prof. Yüksel KAVAK Prof. Sedat YÜKSEL Assoc. Prof. Kafenia BOTSOGLOU Assoc. Prof. Nikolaos CHANIOTAKIS Assoc. Prof. C.Ergin EKİNCİ Assoc. Prof. Stavroula KALDI Assist. Prof. Angeliki LAZARIDOU Assist. Prof. Kostas MAGOS Assist. Prof. Hüseyin SERİN Assist. Prof. Vasilis STROGGYLOS Dr. Fidel ÇAKMAK Dr. Venetia KAPAXCHI Dr. YarAli METE Dr. Maria POIMENIDOU Dr. Christina ROUSSI-VERGOU Dr. Polyxeni MANOLI Dr Katiphenia CHATZOPOULOU Uludağ University, TR Istanbul Üniversity, TR Hacettepe University, TR Uludağ University, TR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR Muğla University, TR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR Istanbul Üniversity, TR University of Thessaly, GR Mersin University, TR University of Thessaly, GR Trakya University, TR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR Hellenic Open University, GR University of Thessaly, GR Secretariat Dr. Polyxeni MANOLI Atahan BÖLÜK Katiphenia CHATZOPOULOU İsa DEVECİ Afroditi IKONOMOU Venetia KAPAXCHİ Çağlar KAYA Anastasia MAVİDOU Maria POİMENİDOU Christina ROUSSİ-VERGOU Sevasti THEODOSİOU Kadir YILMAZ Seda YUMUŞ Seval YUMUŞ Sinem KAYA Hellenic Open University, GR Uludağ University, TR University of Thessaly, GR Uludağ University, TR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR Muğla University, TR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR University of Thessaly, GR Uludağ University, TR Kadir Has University, TR Uludağ University, TR Muğla University, TR iii Scientific Committee Ahmet Duman Alexandra Androusou Ali Paşa Ayas Ali Rıza Akdeniz Ali Rıza Erdem Alice Kagoda Angeliki Lazaridou Asude Bilgin Athanasios Gregoriadis Aysan Şentürk Beverly Lindsay Bill Goddard Cemil Öztürk Chara Kortesi-Dafermou Chi Kin John Lee Christina Roussi-Vergou Claudia Fahrenwald CM Lakshmana Coral Pepper Dean Garratt Dimitris Germanos Domna-Mika Kakana Donald Staub Duncan White Erdal Toprakçı Erdoğan Başar Erkan Tabancalı Euthimia Tafa Eyüp Artvinli Felix Maringe Fevzi Uluğ Fidel Çakmak Francis Fabri Freddy James Gary McCulloch George Bagakis Gıyasettin Demirhan Halil Ekşi Hasan Demirtaş Hasan Şimşek Hayati Akyol Hsueh-I(Martin) Lo Hüseyin Ergen Hüseyin Serin Hüseyin Şirin İbrahim Duyar İlknur Savaşkan İnayet Aydın İrfan Erdoğan İrina Koleva İsmet Öztürk J. Milliken Jacques Ginestié Muğla University, TR National Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR Bilkent University, TR 19 Mayıs University, TR Pamukkale University, TR University in Kampala, EAU University of Thessaly, GR Uludag University, TR Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR Uludag University, TR Penn State University, USA University of Greenwich, UK Marmara University, TR National Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR. Hong Kong Institute of Education, CN. University of Thessaly, GR. Hamburg University, GER The Institute for SEChange, IND Edith Cowan University, AU Nottingham Trent University, UK Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR University of Thessaly, GR Isık University, TR Texas State University, USA Ege University,TR 19 Mayıs University, TR YıldızTeknik University, TR University of Crete, GR Osmangazi University, TR Southampton Education School, UK TODAİE, TR Mersin University, TR Saint Theresa College, M University of the West Indies, TT University of London, UK University of the Peloponnese, GR Hacettepe University, TR Marmara University, TR Inonu University, TR Bahçeşehir University, TR Gazi University, TR St. Cloud State University, USA Mersin University, TR İstanbul University, TR Gazi University,TR University of Arkansas, USA Uludağ University, TR Ankara University, TR İstanbul University, TR Sofia University, BG Uludağ University, TR Queen's University Belfast, UK Aix-Marseille Université, FR iv Janet Goodall Jean McNiff Jeffry Chopin Jenny Gilbert Jill Sperandio John B. Nash Jui-Ching Wang Kafenia Botsoglou Kairat Kurakbayev Kasım Karakütük Kazım Çelik Khaled H.Albaker Khalid Arar Kostas Magos Kürşat Yılmaz Laura Lang Levent Turan Linda Carol Porter Thornton Luis Tinoca M.Hakan Gündoğdu Margaret Grogan Maria Birbili Maria Papandreou Maria Sfyroera Marianna Tzekaki Mary Briggs Melek Çakmak Mindy L. Kornhaber Miriam Ben-Peretz Mustafa Çelikten Mustafa Durmuş Çelebi Müfit Kömleksiz Natalia Ryzhova Nejla Ekinci Nicoleta Duta Nikolaos Chaniotakis Norma Ghamrawi Nuray Senemoğlu Ömer Kutlu Paola Nicolini Paşa Tevfik Cephe Paul A.Ifeanyi Paul Miller Paula A. Cordeiro Priti Chopra Quirin J. Bauer Riffat un Nisa Awan Rob Hulme Roger Deacon Ruhi Sarpkaya Sadegül Akbaba Sadi Seferoğlu Sait Akbaşlı Salih Çepni Seçil Şenyurt University of Warwick, UK York St John University, UK University of Rochester, USA Anglia Ruskin University, UK Lehigh University, IL University of Kentucky, USA Northern Illinois University, USA University of Thessaly, GR Nazarbayev University, KZ Ankara University, TR Pamukkale University, TR Bahrain University, BRN King Saud University, SA University of Thessaly, GR Dumlupınar University, TR Florida State University, USA Hacettepe University, TR Pennsylvania State University, USA University of Lisbon, P Mersin University, TR Claremont Graduate University, USA Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR National Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR University of Warwick, UK Gazi University, TR Pennsylvania State University, USA University of Haifa, IL Erciyes University, TR Erciyes University, TR Cyprus International University, CY Moscow Humanitarian Pedagogical Institute, RUS Muğla University,TR University of Bucharest, RO University of Thessaly, GR Lebanese University, LR Hacettepe University, TR Ankara University, TR University of Macerata, I Gazi University, TR National Open University of Nigeri, WAN Middlesex University, UK University of San Diego, USA Greenwich University, UK University of Augsburg, GER University of Sargodha, PAK University of Chester, UK University of Kwazulu, AU Adnan Menderes University, TR Baskent University, TR Hacettepe University, TR Mersin University, TR Uludağ University, TR Uludağ University, TR v Selahattin Gelbal Selahattin Turan Sezen Özeke Shosh Lehsem Sofia Avgitidou Stavroula Kaldi Stelios Orphanos Stephen Dinham Şeref Tan Şükran Tok Temel Çalık Tuba Yanpar Yelken Tuncer Bülbül Turgut Karaköse Türkay Nuri Tok Vassilis Tsafos Vedat Önsoy Victoria Showunmi Victoria Showunmi Victoria Perselli Yahya Altınkurt Yar Ali Mete Yaşar Özden Yusuf Badavan Yüksel Kavak Hacettepe University, TR Osmangazi University, TR Uludag University, TR University of Haifa, IL University of Western Macedoni,GR University of Thessaly, GR Frederick University, CY University of Melbourne, AU Gazi University, TR Pamukkale University, TR Gazi University, TR Mersin University, TR Trakya University, TR Dumlupınar University, TR Pamukkale University, TR National Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR TOBB University, TR University of London, UK University of London, UK Kingston University, UK Dumlupınar University,TR Trakya University, TR Middle East Technical University, TR Hacettepe University,TR Hacettepe University,TR vi Contents Keynote Speakers The Uncertain Future of Teaching and Teacher Education in OECD Countries Kenneth Zeichner .......................................................................................................................................... 1 Participatory Teacher Development through Action Research Mary Koutselini ............................................................................................................................................. 2 Teachers’ Professional Standards for Developing Education Pasi Reinikainen ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Authors Teachers' Perceptions Related to Their Levels of Benefit From Teacher Certificate Courses Abdullah Açar, Sedat Yuksel ....................................................................................................................... 4 As a Profession Proposal: Educational Engineering Abdullah Elmas, Ismail Elhakan, Tomris Sayin, İbrahim Yildiz ............................................................. 5 Development and Evaluation of a 3D Virtual Environment For Teaching The Solar System's Facts and Concepts Aikaterini Mastrokoukou, Emmanuel Fokides .......................................................................................... 7 Educating Reflective Practitioners in the University of Athens: Prospects and Limitations Alexandra Androusou, Chara Kortesi-Dafermou, Maria Sfyroera, Vasilis Tsafos ................................ 8 EFL Teacher Verbal Aggressiveness and Argumentativeness and Student Socio-Affective Strategy Use and Affective Learning: Exploring Possible Associations Alexandra Bekiari, Polyxeni Manoli........................................................................................................... 9 Intern’s Practicum: Creating a Collaborative Environment Alexandra Sravrianoudaki ........................................................................................................................ 10 International Educational Discourse on Teacher’ Performance: Between Global Doctrines and Personal Postulates Alexandra-Styliani Karagianni, Aristotelis Zmas .................................................................................... 11 Rethinking Teacher Education: The Case of the EFL Primary School Teachers CoP in Delta School District of Athens Alexia Giannakopoulou .............................................................................................................................. 12 Investigation of the Development Process of Qualitative Researcher Competences of PhD Students as Teacher Educators Ali Ersoy ....................................................................................................................................................... 13 Teacher Educators’ Preparedness for the New Trends in Teacher Education: Experiences from Kyambogo and Makerere Universities, Uganda Alice Merab Kagoda, Betty Akullu Ezati .................................................................................................. 14 vii WebQuests as a Training Technique of in-Service Teachers Anastasia Fakidou, Maria Gotzia .............................................................................................................. 15 Myths and Stereotypes in Language Teaching and How to Help English and Greek School Teachers to Dispel Them Anastasia Georgountzou, Natasha Tsantila .............................................................................................. 16 Classroom Management Techniques: Views of Primary School Teachers in Greece Anastasia Papanastasiou ............................................................................................................................. 17 Professional Identity in Early Childhood Care and Education in Greece: Perspectives of Student Teachers Anastasia Psalti ............................................................................................................................................ 18 Encouraging Pre-Service Teachers to Reflect on Their Teaching During Practicum Anastasia Raikou, Athanasios Karalis, Maria Kampeza ......................................................................... 19 Students With Disabilities Perspectives of Service Quality in Special Vocational Training: A Critical Review of The Student-as-a-Consumer Paradigm Anastasia Vlachou, Ioanna Georgiadou .................................................................................................... 20 Spreading the Virus of Active Learning: Widespread Exploitation of the Experience of Learning Mobilities of Teachers Participating in the Erasmus+ KA1 Program Anastasia Voutyra, Sophia Smyrni ............................................................................................................ 21 Building Trust in Schools: The Phantom Quality For Successful School Leadership Anastasios Maratos, Angeliki Lazaridou .................................................................................................. 23 The Contribution of a Teacher Training Module in Increasing the Effectiveness of University Students as Future Education Professionals: Studying Student-Teachers Views Angelikh Kostopoulou, Domna- Mika Kakana ........................................................................................ 24 Investigating Science Teachers’ Fulfillment of Expectations by the B Level ICT Based Professional Development Program Angeliki Samanta, Dimitrios Psyllos, Vasilios Tsefles.............................................................................. 25 Personality and Resilience Characteristics of Kindergarten School Principals: An Exploratory Investigation Apostolia Beka, Angeliki Lazaridou .......................................................................................................... 26 Virtual Communities of Student Teachers: Case Study Research During Practicum Apostolos Kostas, Alivisos Sofos ................................................................................................................ 27 Citizenship Education in the Social Studies Teacher Education Program in Turkey Arife Figen Ersoy......................................................................................................................................... 28 The Effect of Communication Abilities of School Administrators to Teacher’s Job Satisfaction Arzu Eker, Türkay Nuri Tok ..................................................................................................................... 29 Secondary School Students and Teachers’ Metaphorical Perceptions about Learning and Teaching Concepts Asiye Toker-Gökçe, Özlem Ural, İbrahim Aydemir, Zehra Öztoprak-Kavak...................................... 31 Using Web2.0 Technologies for Dissemination on Entrepreneurship Aspa Lekka, Konstantina Karameri, Athanasios Sypsas, Rozita Tsoni, Jenny Pange ......................... 32 Teachers' Use of Reflective Journal Writing Within a Physical Education Teaching Project Aspasia Dania, Bakali Alexandra, Marathou Matina, Mikeli Penelope ................................................ 33 viii Designing Professional Learning Opportunities for In-Service Physical Education Teachers Aspasia Dania, Irene Kossiva, Constantinos Chatoupis, Katerina Zounhia.......................................... 34 Continuing Professional Development in Time of Crisis: Greek Early Childhood Educators' Perspectives Athanasios Gregoriadis, Maria Birbili, Maria Papandreou,................................................................... 35 Using Webinars in Lifelong Learning Programs: A Literature Review Athanasios Sypsas, Jenny Pange ................................................................................................................ 36 Comparing Three Instruments for Assessing Teachers' Burnout: MBI, BM and CBI Athina Daniilidou, Maria Platsidou........................................................................................................... 37 Learning Experiences Leave Their Mark on Pre-Service Teachers Aysun Erginer, Ergin Erginer, Tuba Acar Erdol .................................................................................... 38 Positive Psychology of Teachers Bahar Çağrı Şan, Türkay Nuri Tok .......................................................................................................... 39 Prospective Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching Mathematics Through Tasks Bilge Yurekli, Mine Isiksal-Bostan ............................................................................................................ 40 Using Children Drawings as a Reflective Technique: Example Of Artist Concept Burçin Türkcan ........................................................................................................................................... 41 Evaluation of Origami Activities Created by Prospective Class Teachers Burcu Sezginsoy Şeker ................................................................................................................................ 42 The Perceived Effects of Career Progression Barriers of Female Teachers C. Ergin Ekinci ............................................................................................................................................ 43 The Relationship between Prospective Teachers’ Educational Beliefs and their Views about Critical Pedagogy Çağlar Kaya, Sinem Kaya .......................................................................................................................... 44 Prospective Middle School Teachers’ Perspectives about Model Eliciting Tasks Celil Karabaş, Osman Bağdat, H. Bahadır Yanık, Yasin Memiş ........................................................... 45 A Teacher Perspective on Using Model Eliciting Tasks Celil Karabaş, Osman Bağdat, H. Bahadır Yanık ................................................................................... 46 Teacher Improvement through the Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Flipped Classroom Christina Bourlaki, Domna-Mika Kakana ............................................................................................... 47 The Academic Teacher as a Practical Training Supervisor: Towards a Quality Guide of Good Practices Christina Roussi, Vergaye Garagouni-Areou, Anastasia Mavidou, Domna Mika Kakana ................ 48 Primary Teachers' Professional Development in Instructional Design: Blending Formal and Non-Formal Settings Christina Tsaliki, Georgios Malandrakis, Petros Kariotoglou ............................................................... 49 (Re) Construction of Identities in Digital Learning Environments: A Case of Luganda Language Education Teacher-Trainees at Makerere University David Kabugo, Fred Masagazi Masaazi, Anthony Muwagagga Mugagga ............................................ 50 Student Teachers’ and Teacher Educators’ Reflections on Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Demet Yayli .................................................................................................................................................. 51 ix The Effect of Performance Tasks on Teaching English Vocabulary Derya Kılıç ................................................................................................................................................... 52 ELT Student Teachers' Perceptions about Learner Autonomy in a Turkish State University Derya Oktar Ergür...................................................................................................................................... 53 A Study on Pre-Service Teachers’ Emotions in a Turkish Context Derya Yayli .................................................................................................................................................. 54 Questioning in Primary School Mathematics: An Analysis Of Questions Teachers Ask in Mathematics Lessons Despina Desli, Elisavet Galanopoulou ....................................................................................................... 55 Teacher Training and the Case of International Baccalaureate Organization: The Emergence of a New Teachers’ Professional Identity in Light of New Modes Of Global Governance in Education Despina Tsakiri, Sofia Smyrni, Dimitra Pavlina Nikita........................................................................... 56 In-Service Teacher Continuing Training in Greece: An Overview of Institutional Training Despoina Styla, Aikaterini Michalopoulou ............................................................................................... 57 Undergraduate Student Teachers’ Views about the Implementation of Differentiated Instruction in Primary School Classrooms during a School Teaching Practice Program Diamanto Filippatou, Evgenia Vassilaki, Stavroula Kaldi ...................................................................... 58 The Views of Uludağ University State Conservatory Middle School Students about Living Beings and Vitality Attributes Dilek Zeren Özer, Sema Nur Güngör, Muhlis Özkan ............................................................................. 59 E-Mentoring: Experimental Application of a Modern Model of Support oo Students in The Preparation, Design and Implementation of Practical Training Domna – Mika Kaka, Katiphenia Chatzopoulou, Vitsou Magda Χiradaki Eleni Anastaisa Mavidou ................ 60 The Village Institutes in Turkey as a Teacher Training Model Ebru Kubat .................................................................................................................................................. 61 Greek Pre-Service Elementary School Teacher’s Practicum Experiences Efstathios Xafakos, Anastasios Marato, Lambros Papadimas, Ioanna Tsitsiriga ................................ 62 Greek Elementary School Teachers’ Attitudes towards Educational Research in relation to Research Experience and Knowledge Efstathios Xafakos, Jasmin-Olga Sarafidou ............................................................................................. 63 Teachers' perceptions on their in-service education Efterpi Bilimpini .......................................................................................................................................... 64 Trainee Teachers’ Collaborative and Reflective Practicum in Kindergarten Classrooms in Greece: A Case Study Approach Efthymia Gourgiotou .................................................................................................................................. 65 Future Kindergarten Teachers’ Beliefs about Student Control Efthymia Penderi, Galini Rekalidou.......................................................................................................... 66 The Significance of Fantasy and Creativity to the Teaching Progress at First Years of Primary School Eftychia Nikou, Georgia Nousiou ............................................................................................................. 67 x Elementary Teachers’ Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding the Teaching of Fractional Numbers Eleni Mavroeidi, Charalambos Lemonidis ............................................................................................... 68 Examination of Views of Prospective High School Mathematics Teachers on Proof Emine Özdemir, Filiz Tuba Dikkartın Övez ............................................................................................. 69 The Teacher as a Leader in the Greek Schools Emmanouela Sotiropoulou, Angeliki Lazaridou ...................................................................................... 70 An Academic View to life Erhan Dönmez, Türkay Nuri Tok ............................................................................................................. 71 Determination of the Relationship between Metacognitive Awareness and Locus of Control Levels of Prospective Teachers Ersin Şahin, Abdullah Açar, Şenay Ş.Koparan ........................................................................................ 72 The Examination of Mobbing Practices Against the Class Teachers by the School Principals Ertuğ Can, Hüseyin Çağlar ........................................................................................................................ 73 Diversity Pedagogy in Tertiary Education: Towards a New Professional Learning Framework Eugenia Arvanitis ........................................................................................................................................ 74 The Role of Action Research in a Complex and Changing Educational Model Evaggelia Kalerante .................................................................................................................................... 75 Development and Validation of a New Measure to Assess Early Language and Literacy Faye Antoniou, Angeliki Mouza, Angeliki Mouzaki, Asimina Rall, Sophia Papaioannou, Vasiliki Diamanti ... 76 Professionalization of the Teaching Profession Feyyat Gökçe................................................................................................................................................ 77 Satisfaction of Student Teachers’ of English from Teacher Training Institutions Fidel Çakmak, Feyyat Gökçe ..................................................................................................................... 78 Qualifications of Teachers Regarding School – Parent and Public Relations Figen Ereş..................................................................................................................................................... 79 The Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Hope, Anxiety of Turkish Final Year Students of Faculties of Education Filiz Gültekin, Ahu Aricioğlu ..................................................................................................................... 80 Some Aspects of Professional Empowerment to Improve Job Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers Fotini Kefalidou, Nikolaos Vassilakis, Konstantinos Pitsalidis ............................................................... 81 Professional Development of ODL (Open Distance Learning) Faculty Fouzia Ghias ................................................................................................................................................ 82 For Diversity against Adversity: Second Language Teachers Develop Intercultural and Research Skills during an Intensive Course with Immigrants in Greece George Androulakis, Marialena Malliarou, Irene Ntasiou, Vicky Panagou, Iro-Maria Pantelouka, Sofia Tsioli ............................................................................................................ 83 A Case of Training Second Language Teachers Online: Affordances, Constraints, Advantages and Achievements George Androulakis, Roula Kitsiou, Eleni Paparoidami, Argyro-Maria Skourmalla, Emmanouela Sotiropoulou ... 84 xi The Contemporary Landscape of Greek Teachers’ Professional Development. Issues of Policies, Methodology, Practices and Perspective George Bagakis ............................................................................................................................................ 85 Investigating EFL Teachers’ Concerns and Beliefs During Teaching Practice and in Their First Year of Teaching George Giotis ............................................................................................................................................... 86 How Do Teachers, Students and Parents Perceive the “Good Teacher” in Terms of His/Her Emotional Intelligence Skills? Georgia Diamantopoulou, Eirini Gouridou, Maria Platsidou ................................................................ 87 The Importance of Teachers’ Mastery Goal Orientation and Autonomous Motivations for Their Professional Development and Educational Innovation Georgios Gorozidis, Athanasios G. Papaioannou ..................................................................................... 88 A Teaching Approach Regarding Presentation of Amplifiers to Future Electronic Engineering Educators Gerasimos Pagiatakis, Nikolaos F. Voudoukis ......................................................................................... 89 The Value of the Group in Effective Educational Process Gerasimos Rentifis ...................................................................................................................................... 90 The Effect of Risk Factors Compensation Studies on Disadvantaged Children’s Bully Behaviors Gönül Onur Sezer, Ömür Sadioğlu ........................................................................................................... 91 According to Holland’s Theory of Careers; the Personality Profiles of Turkish Teacher Candidates Guliz Sahin, Mehmet Ali Arıcı, Neslihan Yucelsen ................................................................................. 92 Evaluation of Professional Ethics Principles by Pre-Service Teachers Gülsün Şahan ............................................................................................................................................... 93 According to Ibn Haldun the Needs of Individual for Education and Teacher Hacer Âşık Ev .............................................................................................................................................. 94 The Comparison of Preschool Teachers’ and Parents’ Views about Determined Character Traits of Children Hakan Sariçam, Ayşe Duran ...................................................................................................................... 96 The Predictor Role of Staffs’ Children Liking and Multicultural Personality on Children’s Tendency to Tolerance Levels in Children’s Homes Hakan Sariçam, Merve Bulut, Fatmagül Soylu, Büşra Kartal, Berra Baypinar .................................. 97 Examination the Teachers’ Professional Development Process in the Field of Education of the Hearing Impaired: A Coaching Model Hasan Gürgür .............................................................................................................................................. 98 A Review of Studies on the Role of GIS on K-12 Geography Education Hilmi Demirkaya ......................................................................................................................................... 99 Teaching English through Stories: Sample Story with Teaching Strategies Hülya Küçükoğlu....................................................................................................................................... 100 Evaluation of in-service Training Activities Indented to Teachers in Turkey: A critical Analysis Hüseyin Yolcu, Sadık Kartal, Osman Yılmaz......................................................................................... 101 Teacher Professional Development: Induction and Mentoring Probationary Teachers in Turkey Ilknur Savaskan......................................................................................................................................... 102 xii Teacher Influence on Promoting and Impeding Learner Autonomy in Young Learners Ilknur Savaskan......................................................................................................................................... 103 Middle School Principals' Perceptions of School Violence Ioannis Dimakos, Athanasia Apostolopoulou ......................................................................................... 104 Biopedagogism: A New Teacher Training Model in Special Education? Irene Maleskou, Spyridon-Georgios Soulis, Ismini-Charikleia Karatzeni, Vasileios Masouras ....... 105 Ecosystem of Teacher and Education in Novels Irfan Erdoğan, Yar Ali Mete, Hüseyin Serin .......................................................................................... 106 Improving Teaching Practices in Foreign Language Classrooms: A Focus nn EFL Exam Preparation Classes Irini Papakammenou ................................................................................................................................ 107 The Perceptions of Teachers on the Arrangement of Teaching Activities Based on Arcs Motivation Model Ismet Kaya, Kasım Karataş, Tuncay Ardiç ............................................................................................ 108 The Role of Research in Professional Development Using Structured Academic Controversy Jacquelyn Melin, Sally Hipp..................................................................................................................... 109 Experiencing Mentorship, as a Field for Professional Development in Early Childhood Education Kafenia Botsoglou, Eleftheria Beazidou .................................................................................................. 110 Developing a Professional Community of Learning and Practice through the Hellenic Practicum Network for Early Childhood Education Kafenia Botsoglou, Vasilis Tsafos, Μarianna Τzekaki .......................................................................... 111 School Principals’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Teachers’ Performance Evaluation Kalliope Kaltsonoudi, Anastasia Athanasoula-Reppa ........................................................................... 112 The Evaluation of Educational Achievement Efficacy Area Outcomes of the Third Primary Class Guidance Program Kasım Karataş, İsmet Kaya ..................................................................................................................... 113 Mentoring and Coaching: The Example of the Aianteio Primary School during its Participation in The Network of School Innovation (LDK) 2008-2011 Katerina Boutsi, Theodora Tsiagani........................................................................................................ 114 The Relationship between the Conflict Management Strategies of the Primary Education Administrators and Organizational Climate According to Teachers’ Perceptions Kazim Celik, Kadir Catakdere ................................................................................................................ 115 The Music of Measurement and Evaluation Concepts Kenan Demir .............................................................................................................................................. 116 Supporting Professional Development of Teachers in Classroom Use of ICT via Distance Learning Adaptability Konstantina Kotsari, Michail Kostoglou ................................................................................................. 117 Teacher training: Basic Characteristics of the Educator of the 21st Century Konstantinos Kalemis, Anna Kostarelou ................................................................................................ 118 “…and They Lived Happily Ever After!” The Use of Narrative in Researching Greek and Turkish Student Teachers’ Perceptions of the Ethnic “Other” Kostas Magos ............................................................................................................................................. 119 xiii Teachers’ Pedagogical Competence in Primary School. Examining the Classroom Climate of Schools Using the Comprehensive Reformed Curriculum Lampros Papadimas.................................................................................................................................. 120 In-Service Science Teachers' Development of TPACK through a Blended Training Program in Greece Lemonia Antonoglou, Dimitrios Psillos, Athanasios Taramopoulos .................................................... 121 Preparing Secondary Teachers to Adopt Teamwork of Students as a Teaching-Learning Tool Leonidas Gomatos ..................................................................................................................................... 122 Conceptualizing Inclusive Education: Final-year Undergraduate Students’ perspectives on Inclusive Education and Disability in the Faculties of Preschool Education in Greece and Cyprus Lia Tsermidou, Eudoxia Deropoulou-Derou, Athina Zoniou-Sideri, Konstantina Lampropoulou .. 123 Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in Primary Teachers: The Introduction of an Explicit PCK Course Maria Chaitidou, Anna Spyrtou, Petros Kariotoglou ............................................................................ 124 Interculturalism in Professional Learning of Kindergarten Teachers Maria Giannousopoulou ........................................................................................................................... 125 Distance teacher training in ICT. A case in Pilot Experimental Schools in Greece Maria Gkountouma, Maria Kouklatzidou .............................................................................................. 126 Implementing and Evaluating a Teacher Education Program On Fostering Self-Regulated Learning Maria Kriekouki, Irini Dermitzaki .......................................................................................................... 127 Teachers' Professional Development in Greece: An Open and Flexible Learning Environment or AaConfined and Rigid Education System? Maria Papadopoulou, George Bagakis .................................................................................................... 128 Transforming Teacher Education Paradigm: A Reflective and Collaborative Approach Maria Sakellariou, Eugenia Arvanitis ..................................................................................................... 129 Teachers’ Professional Development Contributing to a Qualitative Education Maria-Eleni Sachou, Konstantinos Chatzidimou ................................................................................... 130 Action Research as an Alternative Teacher Professional Development Approach Marianna Lepida, Katerina Veniopoulou ............................................................................................... 131 The Teacher's Role in the Digital Citizenship Formation in Kindergarten Marina Sounoglou, Aikaterini Michalopoulou ....................................................................................... 132 Can Students’ Cognitive Level Be Assessed Through Project Method? Markia Stamidou, Ioanna Pantelidi, Venetia Kapachtsi ....................................................................... 133 "Webinar...From an Esop's Fables to Puppet Theater: A Distance Learning Method for the Teachers" Martha Mavridoy, Evaggelia Nasta ......................................................................................................... 134 The Consequences of Poverty in Greek Primary School: The Role of the Counselor Melpomeni Christou.................................................................................................................................. 135 Perceptions and attitudes of students of the Annual Programme of Pedagogical Training in the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education Michael Georgiadis, Andreas OiKonomou ............................................................................................. 136 xiv Teacher Educators, Student Teachers and Quality in Teacher Education Michael Kamoudis..................................................................................................................................... 137 Faces of Facebook in Teacher Training Michele Horowitz, Esty Doron, Sivan Sarid ........................................................................................... 138 Guidelines to Support the Development of Children’s Drawing Abilities in Education Monica de Chiro, Paola Nicolini .............................................................................................................. 139 Need for Teacher Development through Improving Quality of Question Papers of BISE in Pakistan Muhammad Saeed, Afshan Naseem ........................................................................................................ 140 An Evaluation of the Professional Development System for Teachers in the Double Shift Teaching Dispensation Muhammadi Bisaso Ssali .......................................................................................................................... 141 Effectiveness of Turkish Teaching Program for Foreigners Mustafa Durmuşçelebi .............................................................................................................................. 142 The Impact of Student Teaching Practice on the Effectiveness of New Teachers Mustafa Özcan, Hürriyet Alataş .............................................................................................................. 143 Parents’ Guidance Needs and Resources during the Identification Procedures for Gifted and Talented Children in Şanlıurfa Nagihan Oğuz Duran, Arif Belur ............................................................................................................. 144 An Investigation of the Perceptions of Elementary School Students about “Democracy” Concept through Metaphors Nazli Gezgin, Türkay Nuri Tok ............................................................................................................... 145 The Views of the Academic Members about the Role and Contributions of Scientific Researches and Academic Activities on Teacher Education Nidan Oyman ............................................................................................................................................. 146 Transitional School-Based Program of Teachers' Professional Development in Greece: The role of the Teachers' School Association and the School Advisor Nikolaos Graikos ....................................................................................................................................... 147 Students’ Misconceptions in Telecommunications Nikolaos Voudoukis, Gerasimos Pagiatakis ............................................................................................ 148 In Service Education on ICT: Characteristics, Goals and Ambitions of Participating Teachers Nikolaos Yfantopoulos, Antigoni-Alba Papakonstantinou, Anastasios Emvalotis.............................. 149 Surveying Information and Communication Technology Skills and Perceptions of Greek Student Teachers: The Results of a Small Scale Study Nikoletta Avgerinou, Maria Giakoumi, Aikaterini Kyriakoreizi, Helen Drenoyianni ....................... 150 How Capable Turkish Elementary Teachers are In Implementing Multiple Intelligence Theory in Social Studies: A Qualitative Research Nurcan Şener, Yücel Kabapınar, M. Cihangir Doğan ........................................................................... 151 Professional Standards for Teachers in a Universal Design for Learning Framework. Promoting a Data Literate and Reflective Teacher Culture in Greek Elementary Schools Olga Imellou, Aris Charoupias ................................................................................................................ 152 xv The Role of Head Teacher to Manage Conflicts at Kindergartens Olga Mpatsoula, Glykeria Reppa, Anastasia Intzevidou ....................................................................... 153 The Effect of Compensation Studies on Disadvantaged Children’s Self Concept Levels and Locus of Control Ömür Sadioğlu, Gönül Onur Sezer ......................................................................................................... 154 Phenomenology and Grounded Theory: A Comparison in Terms of Some Features Oya Onat Kocabıyık.................................................................................................................................. 155 Environmental Influences in Communication of Greek Family: A Comparative Case Study Panagiotis J. Stamatis, Athanasios Papanikolaou .................................................................................. 156 Soft Skills Identification for Guidance and Job Placement Paola Nicolini, Elisa Attili, Valentina Corinaldi, Monica De Chiro, Cristina Formiconi ................... 157 The Impact of New Technologies in Learning Processes: A Survey In A 2.0 Class Paola Nicolini, Idalisa Cingolani, Monica de Chiro, Michela Bomprezzi, Valentina Corinaldi, Magda Dabrowska, Cristina Formiconi, Federica Papa .................................................................................... 158 Early Childhood Teachers’ Didactical Approaches in Science Teaching and Their Comparison with Curriculum Guidelines Paraskevi Kavalari, Domna-Mika Kakana ............................................................................................. 159 Metacognitive Process and Evaluation Paraskevi Dimou, Aikaterini Kasimati, Xanthipi Sourti ....................................................................... 160 Teacher Development Program in Preventing and Dealing with School Violence and Bullying Potoula - Spyridoula Vasileiou ................................................................................................................. 161 Evaluation of an e-Course Platform by Early Childhood Education Students Rosita Tsoni, Vicky Nikolaou, Jenny Pange ........................................................................................... 162 The Historical Novel: Towards an Alternative Approach of History Teaching Rosy Aggelaki ............................................................................................................................................ 163 In-Service Trainings of Teachers in Turkey and Japan Sabiha Öztürk ............................................................................................................................................ 164 Investigation of Branch Teachers’ Perceptions and Expectations about Pre-Service Education and In-Service Training Şaduman Kapusuzoğlu, Habibe Öztürk, Sümeyye Derin ....................................................... 165 Institutes of Secondary Education Teachers Communication Skills Savaş Cemal Emirler, Erkan Tabancalı .................................................................................................. 166 Pre-Service Teachers’ Views about Social Research Selçuk Şimşek, Vesile Alkan, Ali Rıza Erdem ........................................................................................ 167 The Examination of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Levels and Teaching Style Preferences of Vocational High School Teachers Şenay Ş.Koparan, Ersin Şahin ................................................................................................................. 168 Supporting Early Childhood Teachers in Science Education: Processes and outcomes Sofia Avgitidou, Penelope Papadopoulou, Petros Kariotoglou ............................................................. 169 Teacher Support for A Dialogical Education: Processes and Outcomes Sonia Likomitrou, Sofia Avgitidou .......................................................................................................... 170 xvi “It Works but how?” The importance of Educational Robotics as a Precursor of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education Spyros Kourias, Anna Chronaki, Elias Choustis ................................................................................... 171 Constructing a Blended Learning Environment for Teacher’s Education: From Theory to Praxis Stavroula Antonopoulou ........................................................................................................................... 172 Pre-Service Primary School Teachers’ Reflective Writing about the Implementation of Project-Based Learning During Their School Teaching Practice Stavroula Kaldi, Styliani Zafeiri .............................................................................................................. 173 Novice Teachers’ Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Beliefs Şükran Tok, Türkay Nuri Tok ................................................................................................................. 174 Developing a Professional Learning Community in a Greek Primary School: Identifying the Obstacles (Action Research Study) Theologia Avdelli ....................................................................................................................................... 175 The Evaluation of the Adult Educators That Participate in Those Educational Programs for Immigrants Thomaitsa Theodorakopoulou ................................................................................................................. 176 Supporting Sustainable Innovation of the Teacher Education Curriculum Using Open Educational Resources and Deliverables Developed for EU Educational Technology Projects Ton Koenraad ............................................................................................................................................ 177 Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor Patterns of Pre-Service Teachers’ Learning Experiences with Teachers Tuba Acar Erdol, Ergin Erginer, Aysun Erginer................................................................................... 178 The Relationship between Work-Life Balance and Life Satisfaction among Teachers in Turkish Public Schools Turgut Karaköse, Kürşad Yilmaz, Yahya Altinkurt, Orhan Murat Kalfa ......................................... 179 Issues and Tools for Quality Food Education at School Valentina Corinaldi ................................................................................................................................... 180 Does the Adult Educator Need a Personal Educational Philosophy? Vasiliki Karavakou, Genovefa Papadima ............................................................................................... 181 Development of Intercultural Attitudes and Values in the Greek Students with the Teaching of Language and Literature. A Comparative Approach in the Curricula of 2003 and 2011 Vasiliki Mitropoulou, Maria Anagnostopoulou...................................................................................... 182 Perspectives and Limitations of Action Research in Teacher Change: The Effect Of EC Teachers’ Initial Beliefs and Practices Regarding Children’s Participation Vassiliki Alexiou, Sofia Avgitidou ............................................................................................................ 183 Teacher Education on Human Rights Vassilis Pantazis, Efpraxia Triantafyllou, Georgia Pantazi .................................................................. 184 The Teacher Path to ICT Integration Seen Through the TPACK Lens: The Critical Role of Awareness of the Learning Challenge Vassilis Kollias, Ilias Karasavvidis .......................................................................................................... 185 Could the Principal Help Teachers' Professional Development Within The School Unit? Venetia Kapachtsi, Domna-Mika Kakana .............................................................................................. 186 xvii Pre-service Teachers’ Views on the Quality of Faculty Life Yahya Altinkurt, Kürşad Yilmaz, Turgut Karaköse, Orhan Murat Kalfa ......................................... 187 A Compilation Work about Why Turkey Suffers From Learning and Teaching English Yıldız Suna ................................................................................................................................................. 188 Historical Development of Teacher Training Models in Turkey Zehra Köseoğlu .......................................................................................................................................... 189 xviii 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 1 The Uncertain Future of Teaching and Teacher Education in OECD Countries Kenneth Zeichner [email protected] In this talk, I will discuss the current efforts in OECD countries to "disrupt" public education, downgrade the status of teaching, and deregulate and privatize public education and teacher education. I will use the U.S.A. as an example of a country whose national government has actively implemented policies in this direction. I will then outline an alternative path for teaching and teacher education as "public goods" by drawing on research that I have recently conducted on teaching policies and practices in Canada. I will also discuss how counties that have pursued the neo-liberal path of destroying teaching as a profession can be turned into a more progressive direction, and the role of university teacher educators in this process. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 2 Participatory Teacher Development through Action Research Mary Koutselini [email protected] The underlying idea of this intervention is that Action research at schools, with the participation of school principals as pedagogical leaders, is a cornerstone for teachers’ in-service professional development. The theory-practice divide in teachers’ performance (i.e., Koutselini & Persianis, 2000) can be overcome by changing the school ethos and culture from societies of students and teachers to communities of learning, a shift which cannot be achieved unless school principals value this effort and support teachers’ professional development in the learning communities of schools. The above ideas have been implemented in the in-service training program RELEASE, which was funded by the European Committee (Project ID: EACEA-521386: Towards achieving Self-Regulated Learning as a core in teachers’ In-Service training in Cyprus). Critics of the traditional principalship (i.e., Sergiovanni, 1991) have pointed out that curriculum and instructional leadership cannot derive solely from principals, but rather emerge from both principals and teachers (i.e., Blase & Kirby, 2000) who act in communities of learning (i.e., Blase & Blase, 1999). The difficult thing about changing the concept of the leaderprincipal, that must upgrade teachers’ instructional ability, is the process through which this can be done. The modern approaches advocate direct teaching, modeling, measuring of results and promoting good examples as appropriate means for in-service training. Meta–modern approaches (i.e., Koutselini, 1997) transcend the depersonalization of learners and learning processes, espouse non-linear, direct instruction and give voice and space to learners to discover their needs and potential. The action research reflective paradigm of teacher development (Carr, 2004; Elliott, 1991; Koutselini, 2008, 2011) is concurrent with the meta-modern approaches especially because it gives meaning to human experiences during learning without fragmenting the experiences into useful or imposed tasks. Thus, it is considered appropriate for changing the school ethos and developing teachers’ leadership and self-regulated skills. In the RELEASE context, principals’ pedagogical leadership was cultivated as attitude, knowledge, and action during the action research cycles. In the beginning they facilitated teachers’ meetings; after two to three weeks, they started showing interest in the progress of the project and they invited the researchers and trainers to participate in common reflection with the teachers and the principal. They also asked for ‘good’ readings and other action research procedures and results, and enhanced their self-confidence in discussing and addressing pedagogical issues. The procedures and results of Action Research will be discussed. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 3 Teachers’ Professional Standards for Developing Education Pasi Reinikainen [email protected] The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has participated in IEA’s TIMSS and PIRLS studies since 2007. The results of the students’ learning outcomes in KSA have shown very low efficiency for the education system. With the average investment in education, Saudi Arabian students’ learning outcomes have been among the lowest achievement amongst participating countries. Major reason for inefficiency has been identified to be dealing with the inadequacy of teachers’ professional quality. Public Education Evaluation Commission (PEEC) was established to provide information of accountability to the public and improve educational processes and outcomes. A central task of PEEC is to support educational policy-making and national development at the regional and local levels and ultimately, race the performance of teachers. As a part of its duties, PEEC is developing the education system by defining contents and standards for teachers’ and school leaders’ professions. The plan is to firstly license all newly graduated teachers accordingly to the standards that have been created according to the best national and international practices, are fully aligned with National Qualifications Framework, and are also holistic, practical most of all - achievable. Gradually teacher standards and licensing will be extended to cover experienced teachers as well. All the licensed teachers will be registered in the national database. In my speech, I will introduce you the Quality Management System of Teachers’ and School Leaders’ Professional Licensing and Registration: What has been planned: How these plans will be implemented in practice: What kind of evaluation will be carried out during and after implementation: and finally How this information will be used for improvement. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 4 Teachers' Perceptions Related to Their Levels of Benefit From Teacher Certificate Courses Abdullah Açar Sedat Yuksel [email protected] It is thought that ideal society is utopia; but if there was a way to achieve that, it would be through education and teachers would guide in this way depending on their qualifications. At this point, teacher education steps forward as the most important determinant of teacher qualifications. During their pre-service education, teachers mostly take 3 types of courses that are general knowledge courses, area courses and teacher certificate courses (TCC). Among them TCC are to gain prospective teachers some knowledge and skills related to teaching profession. Indeed, TCC include different courses focusing on different dimensions of teaching profession, namely planning and implementing teaching - learning process, classroom management, assessment and coping with discipline problems, and aim to make teacher candidate’s sufficient in these dimensions to some degree. However, the question is if this preparation is meaningful; in other words, what teachers think about their benefits from these courses. The aim of this research is to reveal teachers’ perceptions concerning their levels of benefits from TCC in their profession. This research was designed as a case study as one of the qualitative research designs. Primary mathematics teachers were selected for the research. Study group was constituted via maximum variation sampling method. Primary mathematics teacher education programs in Turkey are divided into 3 groups according to their student acceptance grades and a 4th group has been added inclusive programs whose medium of instruction is English. Two teachers from each group were added to study group. Data was collected via in-depth interview, made by the researchers. They used a semi structured interview form prepared by the researchers after making pre-interviews and getting peer-reviews. Inductive content analysis was chosen for data analysis. Data analysis is still in progress. Keywords: Teacher Education, Teacher Certificate Courses, Teaching Profession Courses, Teacher Education, Teacher' views 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 5 As a Profession Proposal: Educational Engineering Abdullah Elmas Ismail Elhakan Tomris Sayin İbrahim Yildiz [email protected] At first, Romantic designers made a mention of “schools without walls” term. Today, it is talked about in several scientific areas especially due to the developments in Information and Communication Technologies. In the beginning, “Schools without walls” term was coined by people who think that schools affect students’ freedom and characters negatively. But now it is a necessity thanks to technological changes and globalization. The term contains ideas like “there is no need a physical building”, “education can be everywhere”, “communicational devices for education”, “online teaching and learning solutions” etc. As a result of developing technologies and globalization, new professions and more qualified people are needed today. The purpose of this study is to examine the educational benefits of educational engineering. While doing that it also defines the profession, its function and necessity. So, education that is one of the most important elements in development, takes a place in a fast and qualified process. For this purpose, the following questions will be answered: 1.What is the significance of digital training and smart class applications in our country and all around the world, 2.What should be the scope and limits of educational engineering profession? 3. In which areas will educational engineering profession fill the gaps? 4. What is the significance of educational engineering profession for the education in future? In our country, there are 300.00 teachers who have been waiting for appointments. Considering that, our main goal in our education system is leveling up more than contemporary civilizations. If we want that, Turkey will have an important role in the future of education, educational engineering will be one of the most important milestones in solving problems and meeting goals. This study is a mixed research which is based on document analysis and surveys. For this purpose, 20 faculty members and employers will comment on Educational Engineering and document examination using Delphi technique. The specialists whom we will choose will be come together from faculty members of related departments of universities and employers from the relevant industry. Surveys which have been created will be e-mailed to participants. Each participant will list his/her opinions about asked questions and send them back to surveyor as anonymous. In first Delphi applicant, these participants’ thoughts and opinions will be articled and if it is necessary, they will be collected as lower caps. In this way, the second Delphi survey which is formed as structuralized survey sheet will be prepared and sent to the participants. This second survey’s purpose is presenting all proficiency substances to participants. Besides, participants will clarify why they agree or do not agree in each substance briefly. Participants will point out importance degree of each substance or how much they agree with the substance on a Likert-type scale. They will write the reasons about why they agree/do not agree with each substance. They will write the reasons about whether they find the substances as important or not. In second survey, each substance’s first quarter, second quarter, median and width value will be calculated. Besides, comments which are related with agreement or importance degrees of substances will be collected in an extra sheet. Arguments and comments are also included in the form which is sent additionally with survey. In the third Delphi survey, we expect that participants will review given answers in second survey. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 6 Participants will review analyzing their answers, comments, statements and related normal roes. Participants will compare answers in second survey with normal roes related with the group, and revise their decisions by analyzing comments about each substance. Statistics which are created in second Delphi applicant are used in third Delphi survey. We investigate if the width between quarters decreases or not. It is possible to talk about an agreement if there is a decrease in that width. Keywords: Educational Engineering, Delphi technique, vocational analysis 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 7 Development and Evaluation of a 3D Virtual Environment For Teaching The Solar System's Facts and Concepts Aikaterini Mastrokoukou Emmanuel Fokides [email protected] The study deals with the development and evaluation of a 3D virtual environment for teaching facts about the solar system. Many teachers have a theoretical, but not scientific, background and as a result they lack basic scientific knowledge about the solar system. This leads to misconceptions and inadequate teaching of the subject. On the other hand, the use of virtual reality applications and -in general- of 3D virtual environments in education is well established by the constructivist and socio-cultural learning theories. Taking these facts into consideration, an application was developed with a twofold purpose. The first was to study the virtual environment from a technical and utilitarian aspect. The second was to examine the degree to which the learning goals were achieved. Research data were collected evaluating the above parameters. The 3D virtual environment was developed using Open Simulator, a software platform that is based on the Second Life's technology. More specifically, a virtual world was created depicting the solar system in two levels. In the first level, there was an illustration of the solar system on a scale, while the second level provided more detailed information. Two groups of randomly selected students from the Department of Primary School Education of the University of the Aegean were formed. The application was administered to the first group. The second group had an access to online learning material, the same as in the first group. Data were collected with the use of questionnaires that studied the achievement of learning goals in both of these groups. In the first group, one more questionnaire was given for the technical and utilitarian evaluation of the application. The findings of the study were considered satisfactory. Both groups indicated progress regarding their knowledge about the solar system, but the first group of users had better results than the second that had an access only to online information. Also, most of the users of the virtual world stated that the pedagogical goals of the application were achieved and agreed that the 3D environment made the lesson more interesting and visualized situations and facts which were otherwise impossible to represent. Finally, they stated that they would use 3D virtual environments in their teaching. Keywords: virtual reality, 3D virtual environments, solar system, constructivism 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 8 Educating Reflective Practitioners in the University of Athens: Prospects and Limitations Alexandra Androusou [email protected] Chara Kortesi-Dafermou Maria Sfyroera Vasilis Tsafos Over the past 30 years the teaching profession has embraced the notion of the teacher as 'reflective practitioner'. This has led to an increased emphasis on teacher action research and teachers’ reflecting-in-action with resultant increased respect for 'teaching tacit knowledge', “personal theory”. In this framework, in pre-service teacher education programs, students are encouraged to develop skills of inquiry and reflection (to reflect on their own theory, on their professional identity, on teaching experiences and to consider what they can do to improve all these). At the University of Athens in Faculty of Preschool education, we try help studentsteachers to engender reflective practice and critical analysis of educational practice. That is to create reflective practitioners, who attempt to examine the context of the classroom, to think about a classroom problem and see it from different points of view, to attempt solutions and to seriously question the goals or values embedded in the chosen solution and to take responsibility for their own professional development. This paper presents developing strategies to assist student teachers to manage their role better as reflective practitioners. We also try to reflect upon how our reflection raised questions crucial to the educating of pre-service teachers including: How does our program try to promote to develop skills of inquiry and reflection? Does our teacher education program do enough to prepare the pre-service teacher for a reflective process of educational practice? What is the role of critical reflection in pre-service practical experience? Keywords: reflection, teacher education, student teachers as researchers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 9 EFL Teacher Verbal Aggressiveness and Argumentativeness and Student Socio-Affective Strategy Use and Affective Learning: Exploring Possible Associations Alexandra Bekiari Polyxeni Manoli [email protected] The aim of the present study was to investigate the relations among perceived English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness and students’ socio-affective strategy use and affective learning. 148 Greek-speaking EFL undergraduate students participated in the study. The data were collected through four questionnaires: the verbal aggressiveness scale, argumentativeness scale, affective learning scale, and strategy language learning inventory. The results supported the internal consistency of the instruments. According to the results of the study, perceived EFL teachers’ verbal aggressiveness was negatively related to their argumentativeness (r=-.89) and students’ affective (r=-.89) and social strategy use (r=-.87) and affective learning in terms of the content of the lesson (r=-.69), their course behavior (r=-.82) and teacher behavior (r=-.86). In the light of the aforementioned findings, it can be concluded that teachers’ verbal aggressiveness can have a negative impact on students’ feelings, which can, in turn, affect their learning process. Additionally, the findings suggested that teachers should promote argumentativeness and social- affective strategy use aiming at their students’ satisfaction and learning allowing for the contribution of teacher behavior to student language learning. Thus, the results of the study highlight the demand for improvement in teacher education and training (both pre-service and in-service educators) in order to respond to a challenging and constantly changing field. Keywords: EFL learning and teaching; Teacher verbal aggressiveness; argumentativeness; Student socio-affective strategy use; Student affective learning Teacher 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 10 Intern’s Practicum: Creating a Collaborative Environment Alexandra Sravrianoudaki [email protected] Nowadays, the teacher’s profession has become more complicated and difficult. New technologies, consequences of globalization and diverse student’s population increase differentiate the job’s requirements. Thus, it’s high time for a general differentiation in teacher’s education, which enables them to respond to these new demands. During this literature review, the most innovative teacher’s education perceptions like the triad model and other co-teaching methods are represented which materialize the collaboration between the experienced cooperative teachers and the pioneer pre-service teachers (Goodnough et al., 2009). In this study, I have also profiled the most significant factors which are able to contribute to teacher’s education improvement, specifically during the faculty’s practicum. One component, critical to the success of the internal experience which will be mentioned, is the cooperating teacher. In order to teach students to learn, cooperating teachers should try to offer courses in supervision, expand the role of the mentor and extend the practicum (Graham, 2006). Specifically, nowadays cooperating teachers should not be just instructors and learners, but interact with the students. Hence, they evaluate their pedagogical approaches and strategies against newer and alternative methods suggested by the interns. Additionally students should have the opportunity to hear about teacher’s experiences in order to deepen their understanding of the complexity of teaching and of ethical decisions teachers make when they choose particular curriculum goals and assessment strategies (Grahan, 2006). This survey also focuses on the circumstances which are demanded to make the practicum a process of learning which teach not only the interns but the cooperating teachers as a multidimensional and recursive phenomenon. Moreover, it underlines the main factors which defeat this process and foster the lineal transaction between teachers and students. Nowadays a lot of cooperating teachers use to act like Maestros and dominants. They seek to dominate the classroom and the interns and they focus on the surface of education and observable aspects of teaching. It goes without saying that in this climate of accountability and high stakes testing, it is very difficult to create new structures and transform norms of interaction between schools and Universities. Apart from the cooperating teachers, the study examines the role of educational administrators whose beliefs and behavior tend to be a central problem for the interns preparation (Montecinos et al., 2015). Keywords: Pre-service Teachers, cooperating teacher, new demands, complexity of teaching, interaction between schools and Universities, triad model, co-teaching methods. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 11 International Educational Discourse on Teacher’ Performance: Between Global Doctrines and Personal Postulates Alexandra-Styliani Karagianni Aristotelis Zmas [email protected] International organizations, such as European Union, World Bank and OECD, promote teacher policy agendas globally. Their agendas focus on identifying what constitutes the profile of an ‘effective’ teacher in the era of knowledge-based societies. This development challenges the traditional position which suggests that teacher policy agendas are shaped only in the framework of national and local contexts. The present paper argues that the diffusion of the international discourse regarding teachers’ performance is a complex process. As this discourse flows across countries, it interacts, amongst others, with existing policy visions, cultural traditions and the personal beliefs of teachers, whose priorities may differ from those manifest in the equivalent inter-national ‘doctrines’ about teachers’ performance. This argument is discussed by focusing on the views of fifteen Greek teachers who worked in primary schools during the years 2013 and 2014. The paper examines whether the teachers, who were interviewed, adopted basic principles and values permeating the international discourse on teachers’ professional performance. According to the research, teachers are not sufficiently aware of the role of international organizations as significant players in the transnational arena of educational policy making. Furthermore, they express their reservations about the development of cross-national standards relating to their work. However, teachers recognize the importance of some proposals that international organizations make regarding the desired requirements for their professional performance. They realize, for instance, the complexity of their work, accepting the necessity for lifelong learning for their professional development. Keywords: international organizations, educational discourse, teachers’ performance, personal postulates 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 12 Rethinking Teacher Education: The Case of the EFL Primary School Teachers CoP in Delta School District of Athens Alexia Giannakopoulou [email protected] This paper examines the effectiveness of teacher professional development through participation in an online Community of Practice (CoP). The specific CoP is a group of English primary school teachers in Delta School District of Athens who wish to deepen their knowledge and practice on a specific topic, that of Differentiated Instruction (DI). The paper will attempt to throw light on how the teachers become more expert through participation in this learning environment. It will present the development of the specific CoP, assess its effectiveness as a teacher education tool, investigate the nature of the activities carried out by the active CoP members, and their interactions (both trainer-trainee and peer-peer interactions) during a sixmonth period. The measure of the impact of participating in a CoP on individuals and organization (school) will take place in three areas: a) nature of activity (types of tasks, relevance of activities to the CoP’s aims), b) quality of interactions (quality of responses, quality of outputs, types of feedback by expert and peers) c) level of motivation and engagement (number of members involved in discussion, number of posts, length of posts and threads), attitudes (expansion of knowledge based on trainees’ perceptions, potential and applied value based on trainees’ perceptions, feelings of belonging, feelings of identity, attitudes towards this kind of teacher professional development tool). The data will be harvested from questionnaires, semistructured interviews with teachers, direct observation (based on the trainer) and the analysis of the members’ outputs/contributions. The paper will also give an overview of recent developments linked to CoPs with a focus on a social-cognitive and a knowledge-management perspective. What this paper aims to contribute is an enhanced understanding of this model of teacher professional development and evaluation concerning expansion of knowledge, social interaction and the formation of metalinguistic awareness in language teaching. Keywords: Teacher education, online Communities of Practice 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 13 Investigation of the Development Process of Qualitative Researcher Competences of PhD Students as Teacher Educators Ali Ersoy [email protected] As teacher educators at the beginning of their careers, doctoral students prepare themselves not only for academic life but for professional one as well. In this sense, doctoral students are expected to achieve generic competence and scientific competence at the highest level. Generic competence involves everyday communication, cognitive and interpersonal skills while scientific competence deals with skills related to academic life such as academic writing, research methodology, making presentations, and creating conceptual and theoretical frameworks. As a prospective faculty member/researcher, the capacity of a doctoral student both to conduct more quality research and to equip their students with research methodology competence is closely related to the nature of their own experience about acquiring generic and scientific competence during their doctoral education. Therefore, in doctoral programs, students should be offered opportunities to improve their scientific competence in particular. These opportunities might include research methodology courses offered in a doctoral degree program based on quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method paradigms, pilot study experiences within these courses, and activities such as giving presentations about academic or course studies. In this way, doctoral students can actively gain scientific competence through hands-on experience and with an integration of theory and practice. This is a case study that aims to explore the development process of qualitative research competences of doctoral students. The study is being conducted with 10 doctoral students doing a qualitative research methods course in educational sciences field for the first time. The course is designed as 14 weeks of project-based work in which students theoretically learn about and discuss the essentials of qualitative research, basic qualitative research designs and data collection and analysis techniques, they conduct observations and interviews based on qualitative design by which they can apply the theory into practice, and they review articles. The course topics are extended through discussions on Facebook, the reading materials and students’ interview questions and journals are shared on Facebook, and guest speakers with expertise on qualitative research are invited to lessons from time to time. Facebook is effectively used as a peer-mentoring meeting environment. Data are collected using individual reflective journals, semi-structured interviews, Facebook discussion scripts and student self-assessment reports. The primary data analysis method is a thematic analysis technique. The qualitative research methods course and data collection process are still in progress. Keywords: PhD Students, Qualitative Researcher Competences, Teacher Educators 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 14 Teacher Educators’ Preparedness for the New Trends in Teacher Education: Experiences from Kyambogo and Makerere Universities, Uganda Alice Merab Kagoda Betty Akullu Ezati [email protected] Teacher quality has been shown to be the “single most important” variable influencing student achievements (Vespoor 2008, p.217). Teachers’ qualification and experience, knowledge of subject areas and pedagogical skills influence student learning in profound ways (Vavrus,Thomas and Barlett 2011). Improving quality of instruction depends to a large extent on pedagogical training and support provided to teachers during training. Teacher educators have a key role to play in helping teacher trainees develop the knowledge and skills necessary for the 21st century. However, teacher educators are not often specifically trained as teacher educators since it is assumed that anyone graduating with an education certificate would be capable of teaching at the University. Using data collected from teacher educators at Makerere and Kyambogo Universities, this paper analyses teacher educators’ preparedness to support teacher trainees to acquire to acquire 21st century skills. Findings reveal that 21st century skills are not passed on to teacher trainees in the two institutions, specifically students graduate without knowledge and skills in the following skills; information and ICT literacy, information literacy, community based education, project-based investigations, safe and trusting learning, system based learning, reflection on instructional issues, accountability, personal productivity, adaptability, among others. The researchers conclude that teacher educators are not adequately preparing teachers for the 21st century. This, in turn, makes it difficult for teachers to adapt and adopt to the fast changing information landscape. Keywords: 21st century knowledge, skills, values and attitudes, teacher educators and new trends in teacher education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 15 WebQuests as a Training Technique of in-Service Teachers Anastasia Fakidou Maria Gotzia [email protected] Our study concerns a proposal for the training of in-service teachers utilizing the structured formula of WebQuests as an active, collaborative training technique that develops research skills, empowers teachers, promotes their professional development and shapes actively their teacher-identity. It could be used during in situ or distance learning. The theoretical context involves principals of the training archetype about the three conceptions of teacher knowledge and learning, the Mezirow’s theory of Transformative Learning, the application of new technologies (ICT) as a method of training, and the working methodology of WebQuests. A scheme of work of a training program on a specific theme is presented as a template of the training technique. Its aim is the development of teachers’ skills to integrate ICT to teach concepts or themes via the WebQuest learning environment –namely, they are trained about WebQuest teaching practices by WebQuestioning. The program begins with the discussion of a disorienting dilemma, critical reflections on assumptions for the benefits/problems of Internet’s usage and self-examination of feelings for the ICT usage in class. Tasks refer to colleagues’ education in an intrascholastic context by the teachers who have developed expertise due to their participation to the program, and the designing, self-assessment and peer-assessment of a project based on WebQuest in a discipline of their choice. All training activities are cooperative, experiential, structured around problem solving and project-based inquiry. They involve the study of internet resources–information retrieved from websites, the analysis and assessment of a project available in a database- and their elaboration by digital tools (Word Processor, Power Point presentation, Inspiration/Kidspiration software), given strategies (concept maps, data assembling tables, assessments check lists), role-play (ICT skeptic/ICT enthusiastic) and simulation of a intrascholastic training context. At the end, teachers reflect on their previous assumptions and on the new discoveries and events that influenced this transformation. Finally, they create a supportive on line learning community for further study and interaction in an interscholastic context. Tasks and activities are organized and presented according to WebQuest formula by the teachers’ educator. S/he is facilitator or change agent, transfers authority to the teachers, encourages reflection, motivation. S/he promotes social interaction, so as they could recraft professional identities as members of a team of practitioners. Keywords: Transformative Learning, experiential learning, WebQuest structure, in situ/distance training, in-service teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 16 Myths and Stereotypes in Language Teaching and How to Help English and Greek School Teachers to Dispel Them Anastasia Georgountzou Natasha Tsantila [email protected] The various social, political and economic changes that have taken place in most parts of the world over the last century have dramatically affected all scientific disciplines. In reference to the teaching profession, globalization has played a catalytic role enabling teachers of the first and second/foreign language(s) to reconsider and modify their teaching practices in order to better respond to the needs of their multilingual and multicultural teaching contexts. The unprecedented spread that the English language has undergone during the last decades as a widely and - in most cases - almost exclusively used transactional, contact language has led English instructors and educators to a 'reconceptualization' (Seidlhofer, 2011) of their hitherto approaches and teaching methods. In this respect, well known dichotomies such as 'native speaker' vs 'non-native speaker', 'learner' vs 'user' (Cook, 2000) and 'target language' vs 'interlanguage' were highly questioned (Firth & Wagner, 1997) and, as a result, new tendencies in English language teaching have emerged pinpointing a non-monolithic, non- norm dependent approach and the necessity to expose learners to multiple varieties of the English language so that they can be better equipped to communicate with native and non-native English speakers. The traditional approach favoring a standardized, homogeneous form of a model language to be imposed over linguistic varieties also begs rethinking in the Greek setting since the latter is becoming increasingly multicultural nowadays given the influx of a big number of economic immigrants who are currently working and raising their families in Greece. By drawing on experimental data of spoken speech obtained from Greek native speakers of English who are learning Modern Greek and English, the present paper aims at underlining the need to educate pre-service and in-service teachers of the above two languages in order to liberate themselves from clinging to a single, norm dependent language variety and acquire multicultural awareness (Issari, 2006) by realizing the need to apply a pluralistic (Jenkins, 2006) and egalitarian'(Canagarajah, 1999) approach to language learning according to which language varieties should not be underestimated and stigmatized but encouraged in the language classroom as they effectively contribute to attaining interlanguage and intercultural communicative competence. Keywords: first, second/foreign language learning, native vs non-native language user, norm dependent variety, language pluralism, intercultural awareness. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 17 Classroom Management Techniques: Views of Primary School Teachers in Greece Anastasia Papanastasiou [email protected] This research aims to highlight how teachers of primary education in Greece run their classroom as well as the techniques they use most commonly in classroom management. Moreover, the positions of the teachers towards their cooperation with the school environment (colleagues and school principal) and the students’ parents are being investigated. The standardized questionnaire «Teacher Classroom Management Strategies Questionnaire» was used for this research. The survey involved a total of 95 teachers from the counties of Magnesia, Trikala and Thessaloniki both from urban and non-urban areas. The findings indicated that teachers had great confidence in their ability to manage problems in the classroom. Furthermore, it was found that the frequency of use of the techniques, concerning classroom management, agreed with their utility. Keywords: classroom management, Greece, teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 18 Professional Identity in Early Childhood Care and Education in Greece: Perspectives of Student Teachers Anastasia Psalti [email protected] Becoming a teacher –that is, developing a teaching identity - is a complex process that takes place in specific context overtime and involves knowledge, skills, and values required and practiced within the profession. This process begins quite early, even before the student teachers attend the first lecture in their undergraduate studies. They bring with them their personal beliefs about teaching which have been shaped by their own schooling experiences and continue to be influenced by the teacher preparation program they undergo. Early childhood education in Greece is offered in Pre-primary schools (Nipiagogeia) under the competence of the Ministry of Education and Religious Affairs and in Child (Paidikoi Stathmoi) and Infant/Child Centers (Vrefonipiakoi Stathmoi) under the auspices of Municipalities as well as in respective private pre-school education centers (Eurydice, 2010). Teachers for the Pre-primary schools are trained in the Departments of Early Childhood Education in universities and teachers for the Child and Infant/Child Centers are trained in the Departments of Early Childhood Care and Education in Technological Educational Institutions. In 2013 the Greek Ministry of Education changed the titles of the Departments of Early Childhood Care and Education of the Technological Educational Institutions into the Departments of Early Childhood Education without modifying the professional rights of their graduates. This change and the confusion it has created along with the growing interest worldwide in Early Childhood Education may have had an impact on the professional identity of the students in these Departments. Using a qualitative methodology, this study attempts to garner personal perspectives and insights into the developing professional identity of the student teachers of the Department of Early Childhood Education of the Alexander Technological Educational Institute in Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. Three groups of student teachers (N=18, 16 women and 2 men) who were at the beginning, the middle, and the end of their teacher education participated in focus groups and discussed issues pertaining to their professional identity, as this was being shaped by their past and present teaching experiences, their personal beliefs as well their expectations for the future and career plans. Data from the focus groups are analyzed using IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis); they provide insights into the student teachers’ views and expectations regarding their professional role and future career and highlight the ‘confusion’ felt by most professionals in the Early Childhood Education field regarding their roles and responsibilities. Implications for teacher preparation programs and policies will be also discussed. Keywords: professional identity, student teachers, Early Childhood Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 19 Encouraging Pre-Service Teachers to Reflect on Their Teaching During Practicum Anastasia Raikou Athanasios Karalis Maria Kampeza [email protected] The importance of reflection for learning has been emphasized in the context of many professional education programs. Although reflection has been described in many ways and definitions may not reach consensus, it is generally accepted that it enhances teacher’s professional learning. A teacher constantly has to make choices and make decisions that will have an impact on children’s learning and development. Reflection is considered necessary not only to help teachers realize the connection between certain practices and class results but even more importantly, it may strengthen the examination of personal assumptions related to certain issues and the planning of future actions that will change and improve teaching. In the Department of Educational Sciences and Early Childhood Education of Patra’s University in Greece, students take part in a practicum program that consists of a series of courses at the university and the teaching experience in public kindergartens. In this study we are going to present how reflection was used by fourth-year students who were enrolled in the practicum program. The data were collected mainly using student’s daily individual forms of teaching implementation. We were interested in the issues or concerns that students faced during teaching practicum concerning the implementation of the activities, the teaching process and the interaction between them and the children. Keywords: reflection, practicum, initial teacher education, early years education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 20 Students With Disabilities Perspectives of Service Quality in Special Vocational Training: A Critical Review of The Student-as-a-Consumer Paradigm Anastasia Vlachou Ioanna Georgiadou [email protected] The service-recipient paradigm defines education as a service experienced by students and other stakeholders of learning institutions who assess several aspects of quality of that service (Havarnek and Brodwin, 1998). From this perspective, educational institutions should not neglect to satisfy the students, who are the educational service recipients. In fact, students’ satisfaction has been characterized as the “barometer of service quality in education” (Arambewela & Hall, 2006) and for this reason the student-satisfaction approach formulates an ongoing process of assessment, feedback and adjustment of the total student experience, cultivating a trend for continuous quality improvement of the educational services that learning institutions provide (Harvey, 1995). In the light of the above, this presentation aims to explore issues related to students’ satisfaction with post-secondary education, focusing on the field of special vocational training. In particular, the analysis unfolds around the exploration of the obsolete yet still widely used student-as-a-product metaphor which limits the evaluation of the educational procedure to the sole assessment of the student’s cognitive progress, versus the student-as-a-customer metaphor which stems from the commercial transfer from merely producing goods, to producing the goods that consumers would care to buy (Mahatmya et al, 2014; Tight, 2013; Cardoso et al, 2011; Sven, 2005; Tan & Kek, 2004; Ramirez, 1999; Aldridge & Rowley, 1998; LeBlanc & Nguyen, 1997; McMillan & Cheney, 1996). The helpful components and negative connotation of both of those metaphors are marked. The presentation then traces the application of the consumer based paradigm in the higher education sector, where students’ assessment of service quality indicate the importance of functional aspects of education services (Ibrahim, 2014; Glaser‐Segura et al, 2007; Marsh & Roche, 1997; Marsh & Roche, 1993; Poplin & Weeres, 1993). Similar findings from research in vocational education and special vocational education reveal the multilateral aspects of the instructor’s competency -such as in relevant curriculum, career assessment procedures, vocational interventions, community resources, and disability knowledge- which determine the satisfaction of students with disability (Behdioğlu Şener, 2014; Ibrahim et al, 2012; Herbert et al, 2010; Fitzgerald & Harmon, 1988; Hasazi et al, 1985). Involving the student with disability in the evaluation of the vocational training institutions’ services, while fulfilling the role of student as customer, actualizes empowerment featuring Dewey’s (1949) principle for student engagement and responsibility in education. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for advancing instructors’ professional development and promoting the effectiveness of vocational training institutions. Keywords: vocational training, special education, disability, service quality, consumer metaphor 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 21 Spreading the Virus of Active Learning: Widespread Exploitation of the Experience of Learning Mobilities of Teachers Participating in the Erasmus+ KA1 Program Anastasia Voutyra Sophia Smyrni [email protected] Educators assume the responsibility to connect the rapidly changing world with its future citizens. The teaching profession is becoming increasingly complex, demanding and challenging. Several research findings take into account that more recently developed teaching approaches require more professional development. Teacher efficacy is strongly connected to teacher professional learning opportunities that can provide mastery and vicarious experiences, raising teachers’ personal competence levels. School embedded professional learning opportunities can thus answer to self-directed desires for instructional change, which can then provide the motivation to sustain efforts and overcome obstacles. There seems to be a powerful relationship between increasing teacher efficacy and increased student achievement. The EU points out that training programs for teachers should enhance teachers’ experience, promoting collaborative interdisciplinary approaches. The Erasmus+ Program KA1provides support for projects that promote the development of teachers' competences. During the current school year (2014-15) the 2nd High School of Xylokastro undertook the Erasmus+ project “Spreading the virus of active learning”. Seven teachers took part in two training workshops delivered by the European Bridges Consulting: a) Group Dynamics and Social Skills in the Classroom: An insight into group dynamics and social skills, tools to observe group process, ways to improve classroom climate and the general school wellbeing. b) Action Methods Increasing Motivation and Quality in Learning Situations: Teachers learnt ways to improve learners’ motivation, create group cohesion, a positive classroom climate. For the dissemination of the project results, we first carried out an “in-service training”, sharing the learning experience of our mobility with all the teaching staff in our school with the view to improve our performance and effectiveness. Afterwards, we implemented the acquired knowledge in our classrooms in various subjects: English, Home economics, Biology, Modern Greek, Professional Orientation, and Interdisciplinary Projects. In due course, we diagnosed that a positive change was demonstrated in the learners’ attitude concerning their participation in the learning process: the number of active learners increased, intrapersonal relations improved, pupils were more energized and enthusiastic to repeat activities, which verified the basis of Dewey's assumption “one cannot learn without motivation”. Overall difficulties that we faced were the different teaching styles, the different codes of conduct and communication, the diverse professional experiences of teachers and, occasionally, lack of time. The following part of the dissemination is addressed to all educators of the Xylokastro municipality, viewing to create a teacher network, promoting the development of a common understanding of instructional goals, methods, problems and solutions. Thus, we collaborated with our Pedagogical Counselor, who supported the implementation of educational innovations and encouraged us providing guidance to carry out an interschool training workshop for teachers of our area in early May, so as to promote the effective teaching method that we recently practiced. We aspire to trigger a positive impact on 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 22 the quality of the participants’ teaching approaches. As MacBeath states, “few charismatic teachers who act differently may start to incubate an epidemic”. Keywords: Erasmus+ mobility, teacher professional development, peer learning, enhance motivation, active learning 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 23 Building Trust in Schools: The Phantom Quality For Successful School Leadership Anastasios Maratos Angeliki Lazaridou [email protected] Educational researchers have identified the importance and value of trust within schools and school leadership: Trust is a critical ingredient of the social context of schools because it improves cooperation; it enriches openness and health in a school culture; it is essential for leadership, and perhaps most importantly, it facilitates student achievement. Trust has consequences for a range of activities in the school including the way teachers cooperate and work together, but trust is particularly important when the leader aims to take the staff somewhere unknown, to bring about change. Research has shown that the existence of trust between teachers and their administrative superiors, leads, more often, to the achievement of the educational goals being set, while at school organizational level, cooperation and creativity is reinforced (Bryk & Schneider, 2002; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2000; Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001; Dimitri Van Maele , Mieke Van Houtte , 2015). The existence of trust within the school not only affects the behavior of teachers, but also strengthens their morale, dealing with the attainment of school goals, working to enhance the efficiency and overall school improvement. For this presentation, I will present the major tenets from the literature that surround the notion of trust, emphasizing specifically how a particular form of trust, “relational” trust can affect a positive school climate thus making schools more efficient. Then, I will present preliminary findings from an exploratory study on the beliefs and opinions of Greek teachers and principals about trust and its effects on their work. At the moment research is in progress. Keywords: educational leadership, trust, morale, relational trust 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 24 The Contribution of a Teacher Training Module in Increasing the Effectiveness of University Students as Future Education Professionals: Studying StudentTeachers Views Angelikh Kostopoulou Domna- Mika Kakana [email protected] Teacher training at University level can be considered as an area of research that focuses on the skills and capabilities that future early childhood professionals need to develop in order to be effective in their duties. At the same time being an effective teacher has been linked to both classroom management and educational planning. One of the issues that affect educational planning is for student-teachers’ school placement. The purpose of the Teacher Training module is to help students utilize the experiences gained by them during their time in schools. These experiences become part of a dialogue between students, university teacher trainers, and others who participate in the delivery of the course. This presentation is part of a research that addresses the extent to which student teachers can relate the course content to what actually happens in the class. By asking students to evaluate the course in which they participate, the current study focuses on students’ views concerning their roles. Research suggests that student outcomes relate positively to teacher self-efficacy (Tschannen-Moran & Barr, 2004) The aim of this research is to discuss the views held by students on the effectiveness of a course which focuses on helping them understand all aspects of reality of their chosen profession. Questionnaires will be used as a method of data collection. Through answers given by fourth year university level students, this research aims to address the extent to which theory can be linked to practice. The results indicate that student teachers hold strong views regarding their roles and responsibilities. At the same time student teachers express their opinion on which aspects of their course find more effective. More specifically their responses indicate that attending the course has helped them to deal with classroom management issues. Finally student teachers argued that they would prefer case study analysis instead of theoretical discussions of educational issues Keywords: Early Childhood Education, Teacher Training, teacher effectiveness 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 25 Investigating Science Teachers’ Fulfillment of Expectations by the B Level ICT Based Professional Development Program Angeliki Samanta Dimitrios Psyllos Vasilios Tsefles [email protected] Modern professional development (PD) programs focus on the pedagogical exploitation of ICT and its implementation in classrooms. In Greece, teachers’ PD in ICT use is part of a nationwide program of primary and secondary teacher called B level. In the present study, we investigated science teachers’ expectations from the program and the fulfillment of those expectations after participating in it. We carried out an investigation using pre and post questionnaires (N=146) and personal interviews (Npre=20 and Npost=16). Teachers were initially asked to express their expectations from the program. Their answers were categorized in 6 categories: learning software, knowing how to create ICT activities and scenarios, personal improvement, teacher’s evaluation, interaction between co-trainers and students’ interest. 81 % of teachers expected to learn the software so as to make their teaching more attractive to their students, about 50% of them mentioned activities and scenarios and only 14% marked their personal improvement. In the interviews following the pre questionnaires, everyone suggested that they wanted to participate in this program for personal improvement and the professional evaluation credits as well. All teachers stated that they would participate in it anyway but the evaluation of their work by the authorities made it more imperative. In the post questionnaires, 79% were highly satisfied with the program, 82% mentioned that it was very interesting and 73% that the program gave them the knowledge to integrate ICT in their teaching. In the interviews following the post questionnaires, all science teachers were positive towards the program, though they pointed out that they got tired due to its long duration. In conclusion, our study showed that science teachers were willing to participate in the B level PD program and at the end their impressions were positive. It is notable that despite their tiredness, they stated that they would like to participate in a third level PD program as well. Keywords: professional development, ICT, expectations 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 26 Personality and Resilience Characteristics of Kindergarten School Principals: An Exploratory Investigation Apostolia Beka Angeliki Lazaridou [email protected] The present research examines personality and resilience of school principals in Kindergarten. In particular, we investigated the personality traits and resilience school principals displayed and the differentiation of sex, age and years of service in the current leader position of principals using quantitative methods. To investigate the above concepts, we used the «Τhe Big Five Inventory» (BFI) by John, Donahue & Kentle (1991) and the «Leader Resilience Profile Revised 2015» (LRP-R) created by Patterson, Goens & Reed. A quantitative survey was used and questionnaires were sent to all school principals in the county of Magnesia. Methods of descriptive statistics for the presentation and description of numerical data as well as methods of statistical inference were used for the analysis. Keywords: personality, resilience, Kindergarten teacher 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 27 Virtual Communities of Student Teachers: Case Study Research During Practicum Apostolos Kostas Alivisos Sofos [email protected] In this abstract, we want to present a research effort, as part of a doctoral thesis, that focuses on the preparation phase of student teachers during their practicum placement in schools, spanned in two dimensions: (a) the educational dimension, which is related to the “emerging” professional identity and the reflection on practice for student teachers during school placement and (b) the technological dimension, which is related to the electronic Community of Teachers’ Practicum (e-CTP), as an online collaborative platform with social network characteristics, in order to support and facilitate the work and cooperation of students during this period. The main research topic, as it revealed through the literature review and led to the establishment of this research design, was the "investigation of the role of a virtual community as a means of supporting student teachers during their internship", based on two research axes with 1st axis as the "investigation and evaluation of the contribution of e-CTP during practicum" and the 2nd axis as the "investigation of reflection levels within students and various dimensions of their emerging professional identity, through their participation in e-CTP". Case Study was chosen, as an empirical, naturalistic educational research methodology in a specific spatial-temporal frame. The study of e-CTP is a single, holistic, instrumental and exploratory-descriptive case study, while collection and analysis of data, under this methodological approach, followed the rationale of Mixed Methods, but with emphasis on the analysis of qualitative data, using content analysis techniques on various electronic messages. The analysis and aggregation of the results showed that during the six months of internship, a “learning /developmental trajectory” was identified within the community, through which students achieved an improvement on their learning and development level, social-emotional situation and their degree of practicum’s satisfaction, while boosting their average level of reflection, beyond any difficulties that were observed, such as work overload. Moreover, the viability of Cloud-Computing services was evident, in order to support collaborative environments within teachers’ preparation institutions. Keywords: teachers’ practicum, virtual communities, web 2.0, reflection, identity 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 28 Citizenship Education in the Social Studies Teacher Education Program in Turkey Arife Figen Ersoy [email protected] At the present time, citizenship competencies are closely related to the development level of countries. Therefore, citizenship education is becoming increasingly more important in the agenda of education. In order to provide effective citizenship education, teachers should have sufficient professional competencies. Teachers must be graduated as competent teachers about efficient citizenship competencies and how to provide citizenship education before employment. Social studies course has a particular importance for citizenship education in Turkey. It is because the aim of primary education social studies is raising effective and democratic citizens. Power, Governing and within the scope of learning domain, democracy and other governing regimes, human rights and responsibilities are taught at social studies education in primary school curriculum. For this reason, social studies teachers have an important role in effective citizenship education. It is essential that the citizenship education competences of social studies teacher candidates should be enhanced in the undergraduate period. In the present study, social studies teacher education program, lessons and its contents were examined with regards to citizenship education. This research was designed as a case study in the qualitative approach. The contents of courses which are in the social studies teacher education programs were examined and analyzed. Research results shows that the teacher candidates generally don’t have lessons for directly oriented to the citizenship education and they gain the other major area courses, general knowledge lessons and limited citizenship knowledge. Introduction of political science, citizenship knowledge, human rights and democracy, present world problems and community service experiences lessons contribute to improving the citizenship of teacher candidates. It is understood that with regards to citizenship education, special teaching methods I-II lesson focuses on social studies education and it is not satisfactory to gain citizenship education competences. Courses like effective citizenship education, moral education at social studies, disputable current issues education and digital citizenship education are taught only in a few universities in Turkey. As a result, the citizenship competence and citizenship education competences are improved at a limited level. In order to improve the competences of teacher candidates, the courses including citizenship democracy and human rights education should take in social studies teacher education program. Quantitative and qualitative researches which examine the citizenship competences and citizenship education competences can be done. Keywords: Citizenship education, teacher education, social sciences, teacher candidates 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 29 The Effect of Communication Abilities of School Administrators to Teacher’s Job Satisfaction Arzu Eker Türkay Nuri Tok [email protected] This study is being made in the light of thinking that organizational communication which ensures the wellbeing of administrative processes has an effect on teachers’ profession satisfaction. Administers are as successful according to the abilities to use their communicational skills. It is directly proportional that an administrator’s communication skills and fulfilling school’s goal by determining goals clearly, and then telling these goals to organization members to make people around them work according to those goals. For this reason, communication skills, one of the personal skills of school administrators, is very important to determine school’s communication process. Communication is one of the primes on a school’s success or failure. It is because in a school with a principle with good communication skills, teachers are expected to be highly satisfied with their professions. Job satisfaction is an employee’s contentment and positive attitudes toward one’s business life, or harmony between conditions provided by one’s work place and oneself. This research is made for importance of communication and administer’s communication abilities effect on teacher’s job satisfaction. For using scales that included personal and organizational variables, the database group of the research comprises primary teachers worked in the Pamukkale town of Denizli province in between 2014–2015. School manager’s communication abilities were examined the relation of teachers’ gender, education, branch and seniority. In the first part of the database that was used in this study personal information form. In the second part communication abilities scale’s by Celep (2000) are used; this scale has for subtitles 4 in factor analysis. Job satisfaction questionnaire is used in job inform scale which was developed by Hackman and Oldham (1980) identify the effect of administers communication abilities on teacher’s job satisfaction. Now the research is in the process of collecting data. The analysis of the study is still in progress. Therefore, the finding, results and discussion sections haven’t been completed yet. This research administrator’s communication abilities effect on teacher’s job satisfaction as the aim is to understand and to find out whether these factors of organizational communication have a relationship with job satisfaction or not. Some of teacher's personal information (gender, educational level, branch and seniority) will be used to test if there is a significant difference based on the perception of the teacher’s job satisfaction. The data will be analyzed after being collected. SPSS (The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) will be used as the statistical software for the quantitative analysis and the level of significance is set at .05 for the analyses to interpret the results. To analyze the data, two statistical analysis methods will be utilized: (a) the descriptive statistical method is simply to illustrate what is going on with current data and (b) the inferential statistical method is used to make inferences from data to more general conditions. A multiple regression analysis enables the researcher to examine how effectively one or more independent variables allows one to predict the value of dependent variables. More specifically, the researcher used multiple regression analyses to determine how well each dimension of organizational communication was able to predict each type of personnel job satisfaction and to determine 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 30 which organizational communication dimension(s) would be significant predictor(s) of the organizational outcomes when controlling for demographic variables. First, the frequency analysis of the personal features is examined. Statistical analyses of the research will be done to investigate the relationship between relationship management factors and the employee satisfaction and the personal factors such as gender, branch, seniority, education level. After defining the factors and testing the reliability of the data, correlation and regression analyses will be implement to find out the relationship of the manager's communication abilities to teacher's job satisfaction. Finally independent t-test, ANOVA analyses will also be implement to find out whether there are gender, education, branch and seniority differences on teacher’s perceptions of the manager's communication abilities. Keywords: communication, organizational communication, satisfaction, job satisfaction, school administer, primary teacher. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 31 Secondary School Students and Teachers’ Metaphorical Perceptions about Learning and Teaching Concepts Asiye Toker-Gökçe [email protected] Özlem Ural İbrahim Aydemir Zehra Öztoprak-Kavak Learning is a change in students’ behavior throughout the process of communication. Being able to teach something to the students is related to the communication between two sides; teachers and students. Purpose of this study is to explore perceptions of secondary school students’ and teachers’ about learning and teaching concepts. In this context, metaphorical perceptions of students’ about being a student and learning and metaphorical perceptions of teachers’ about being a teacher and teaching were examined. Metaphor means that different things are compared from different reasons. If a metaphor is well enough, not only it helps the ideas to bring about but also makes them more understandable and clearer (Çelikten, 2006). Metaphor as it’s more than a rhetoric ornamenting the ideas, it’s a style of seeing and thinking the world (Morgan, 1998). Lakoff & Johnson (1980) defines metaphors in three dimensions. One of them is that metaphor is not only a matter of words but also a matter of the relation between thought and action. Second dimension is about the conceptual system of our thought and action’s being fundamentally in nature. In defining our everyday realities, our conceptual system’s role is important in terms of structuring these realities between our perceptions and other people. In this research, purposive sampling was used. Yıldırım & Şimşek (2008:107) admitted that purposive sampling could make the researcher study the situations, being thought to have productive information, deeply. In this context purposive sampling method is useful for most of the situations in terms of exploring and explaining the facts and phenomena. The research group constituted 55 students who were studying at 8th grade, and 8 teachers teaching in those classes in Kocaeli, a big industrial city in Turkey. This research was implemented in the qualitative model. The data were obtained by a semi structured information form developed by the researchers. While analyzing 7 students’ forms were not appropriate in explaining the metaphor, they were omitted. Thus the research group constituted 48 students and 8 branch teachers. Two forms were developed to get information from teachers and students. In these forms the questions "(1) Being a student is like / or it resembles ……………….. Because …. (2) Learning something in this classroom is like ….. Because … “were asked to the students to complete; and the questions "(1) Being a teacher is like /or it resembles ….. Because …, (2) “Teaching something in this classroom is like…” were asked to the teachers to complete. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics. The data were grouped according to the explanations given to the metaphors. 9 categories were about students’ being student in that classroom and 5 categories were about learning in that classroom; 3 categories were about teachers’ being teacher in that classroom and 4 categories about teaching in that classroom. This study finished with discussion. Keywords: Teacher, Student, Metaphor, teaching metaphors, learning metaphors, secondary school, Turkey 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 32 Using Web2.0 Technologies for Dissemination on Entrepreneurship Aspa Lekka [email protected] Konstantina Karameri Athanasios Sypsas Rozita Tsoni Jenny Pange Young adults in Europe are mainly affected by the increase of unemployment. Additionally, the economic crisis of 2008 revealed the lack of information on entrepreneurship. Thus, a large number of actions affecting the youth entrepreneurship are implemented in different levels of education from primary school to lifelong learning. Since, according to recent studies, entrepreneurship is primary an innovative operation, entrepreneurship education should involve learning-by-doing activities and experimental methodologies. Research studies revealed that young people used in their everyday life Web 2.0 services, like social networks, blogs and wikis. The Web 2.0 technologies use, facilitate interaction, communication and collaboration. Furthermore, using these technologies (social networks, wikis, blogs, webinars), teachers and learners can interact and collaborate one by one or even several at a time. Also, the aforementioned technologies motivate users to participate actively. Entrepreneurship education empowers students to set up their own businesses in order to overcome the unemployment. By using Web 2.0 technologies, people who succeed in different types of business may transfer experiences and good practices to young entrepreneurs. Especially, LinkedIn is the main one. As of June 2013, the social network LinkedIn reports more than 259 million users in more than 200 countries and territories. This social network can be used for professional networking. Another application of Web2.0 is Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). MOOCs concerning entrepreneurship facilitate the free transfer of knowledge over the Internet, overtaking the boundaries of traditional teacher based learning. Game Based Learning (GBL) could be adopted in the conventional MOOC environments in order to overcome the lecture-based approaches. Thus, students through GBL develop their practical abilities and knowledge, such the entrepreneurship abilities. For the purpose of this study different tools were used. Firstly, a group named “Entrepreneurship Topics, Laboratory NT & DL UoI” was created in social network LinkedIn to help students in entrepreneurship social networking. Secondly, a wiki for undergraduate students at the Laboratory of New Technologies and Distance Learning in University of Ioannina was created and supported. In this wiki undergraduate students posted questions, were involved in discussions, and got advices on entrepreneurship issues. Moreover, a series of Webinars is planned for next semester in order to present the future trends in entrepreneurship education. Keywords: Web 2.0 technologies, Entrepreneurship education, Game Based Learning, MOOC 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 33 Teachers' Use of Reflective Journal Writing Within a Physical Education Teaching Project Aspasia Dania Bakali Alexandra Marathou Matina Mikeli Penelope [email protected] Teaching is a non-linear process of decision making, curriculum planning and knowledge implementation. The extent to which teaching will have a positive impact on student progress and learning depends on the teacher’s ability to reflect on and about his practice. Reflection is a form of experiential learning which supports the development of new knowledge about practice and promotes change and effectiveness (Schön, 1983). As a means of encouraging and documenting teacher reflection, journal writing has gained great attention, with research providing variable results according to the each case pursued objectives. Based on the above, the aim of the present study is to explore the use of journal writing both as a vehicle for teacher reflection and as a research tool documenting teachers’ progress within the context of a Physical Education (PE) case study project. Three female PE primary school teachers with more than eight years of experience participated in the research and were trained to use the “Teaching Games for Understanding” (TGfU) model. TGfU is a student centered curriculum model emphasizing the cooperative learning and tactical game performance. During a period of six weeks, each teacher was responsible for designing and implementing in her class 24 consecutive PE units, divided in three separate categories: Target, Net and Invasion Games (eight units per category). Following every unit’s implementation, each teacher had to complete her own journal within 24 hours, according to previously given guidelines which corresponded to TGfU theoretical principles. Journal entries were analyzed according to three levels of reflectivity (technical rationality, practical action, critical reflection), to determine the extent of reflection achieved by the three PE teachers. Thematically relevant post interview data were analyzed to examine teachers' perceptions about the use of journals as means of knowledge acquisition and development. Interview and journal data were transcribed and analyzed. Results show that throughout the research, journal entries have moved from a technical to a more reflective focus. This developmental trend was different for each of the three PE teachers, since one of them incorporated more moral and ethical considerations within her writings. PE teachers valued journal writing as an effective professional and emotional feedback “partner” that encouraged their reflective thinking and pedagogical content knowledge attainment. Despite being a case study project, this research gives further evidence regarding the use of reflective writing as an effective medium of PE teachers’ professional stance development. Keywords: Physical education teachers, reflection, journal writing, teaching games for understanding 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 34 Designing Professional Learning Opportunities for In-Service Physical Education Teachers Aspasia Dania [email protected] Irene Kossiva Constantinos Chatoupis Katerina Zounhia Physical Education (PE) curricula are nowadays designed with a focus on holistic learning, critical thinking and interpersonal skills. Whether or not PE teachers will manage to promote the aforementioned learning objectives depends both on their educational beliefs and on the opportunities they have for professional development (Ha et al., 2008). However, research shows that professional development programs either focus on the demonstration of decontextualized PE teaching routines or provide sterile theoretical knowledge hardly applicable in practice (Armour & Yelling, 2007). Based on the above, the aim of this paper is the presentation of a three stage professional development program designed for the demands of an action research project focusing on the improvement of PE teaching within a primary school in Piraeus-Greece. The program’s core characteristic was the adoption of the “Teaching Games for Understanding” (TGfU) model for the design of developmentally appropriate PE units. As a curriculum model, TGfU promotes the development of tactical knowledge and learning transfer within games that enhance group work and decision making. Three female PE teachers with different professional backgrounds took part in the program, each being responsible for a different primary class. Initially, the teachers were introduced to the philosophy of the TGfU model and they were given guidelines regarding its implementation. Afterwards, each PE teacher had to design eight consecutive PE units for each of the three TGfU categories (Target, Net and Invasion Games), according to their students’ profile. For every unit, each teacher received feedback regarding its unity with the TGfU framework, together with possible alternative suggestions per lesson activity. After each unit was revised, it was applied in practice and teachers’ journals were kept. Three times during this stage representative game lessons were video-recorded and evaluated in common according to a specially devised observation instrument. At the end of the program, reflection-based group discussions and individual interviews were carried out focusing on the teachers’ perceptions regarding the implementation of the model. An initial overview of the program’s structure proves that the PE teachers value “hands-on” professional learning opportunities that focus on content sharing and pedagogy reflection. The intimate worth of such opportunities lies both in their collaborative nature and their constructivist oriented philosophy, which views knowledge construction as the result of the teacher’s creative interaction with the context of action. In the long run, such claims remain to be confirmed through the qualitative analysis of the action research data. Keywords: Professional development, Physical Education teachers, Teaching Games for Understanding 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 35 Continuing Professional Development in Time of Crisis: Greek Early Childhood Educators' Perspectives Athanasios Gregoriadis Maria Birbili Maria Papandreou [email protected] The need for the present study has arisen from recent changes in the professional development of Greek early childhood teachers. It was also based on the realization that the economic crisis in Greece calls not only for more cost-effective approaches to teacher professional development but also for policies that encourage life-long learning and skill development. More specifically, the study set out to “capture” early childhood teachers’ perspectives about professional development, during the time of the abolishment of “Didaskalio”, a university-based professional development program that has been in place for more than 90 years. The teachers who participated in the study were the last ‘graduates’ of the ‘Didaskalio’ of the Department of Early Childhood Education at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, which ended officially in 2012. Data were collected using a semi-structured questionnaire given to 45 participants. All participants were women with their teaching experience ranging from 6 to 20 years. Teachers were asked about the quality of the training they had experienced, what professional development meant to them and their perception of CPD activities. Data analysis showed that for the teachers of the study professional development was still equated primarily with structured courses and/or programs run by “official” educational institutions or bodies. This kind of professional development practice seems to satisfy teachers’ expressed need a) to have their training certified by a ‘formal’, ‘recognized’, ‘respected’, ‘organized’ provider and b) for formalized knowledge. Although alternative models of CPD, like on-line training, sharing good practice and whole-school development events are not rejected they are not as popular as institution-based expertise. Teachers’ preferences seem to be closely linked not only to their professional development experiences until the time of the study but also to the way they define professional development. According to the participants, professional development is mainly about ‘learning what’s new’: New knowledge, new developments in the field of early childhood education, new practices and teaching strategies. The second most reported definition reveals teachers’ perception of professional development as a process which improves one’s professional career and/or prospects. An interesting finding related to their definition of professional development is the small number of teachers who link professional development experiences directly to student learning. The paper will discuss the implications of the findings in light of the current economic and social circumstances facing Greek education and suggest directions for future action both for policy makers and universities. Keywords: Early childhood education, continuing professional development, professional learning, teachers training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 36 Using Webinars in Lifelong Learning Programs: A Literature Review Athanasios Sypsas Jenny Pange [email protected] The extended use of ICT in all stages of educational process empowers E-learning to offer innovative educational programs in new, engaging and finally effective ways to heterogeneous learners. Webinars are one of the latest tools used in e-learning. A Webinar is a web-based seminar, conference or presentation. It provides an interactive environment to share information and receive feedback from audience without place restrictions. It, also, offers the ability to transmit video and audio simultaneously enabling users to share applications, using whiteboard, communicating and finally supporting the collaboration between the presenter and the audience. Additionally, the webinars can be recorded and viewed in later time. The lifelong learning programs are using the expansion of ICT and the growing availability of information sources. Many of these programs adopt the available learning sources (Webinars, MOOCs, etc.). Lifelong learning programs use the Webinars increasingly, as their learning advantages are acknowledged. According to resent studies, webinars are used in combination with traditional traineeships, professional conferences, community education courses, and workplace training, during lifelong learning programs. In lifelong learning programs about teacher information and communication competence development, one of the main strategies was the conduction of webinars. Lifelong learning is used to educate various audience groups in health professions, because of the continuous evolution in this sector. Thus, webinars are used in such lifelong learning programs. Other studies revealed that users in lifelong learning programs concerning digital curation, had a preference for webinars, among other tools (social networks, MOOCs, etc.), as they were no-cost solutions. Moreover, Webinars were chosen, among other tools, to be used in continuing education programs for social workers from different geographical areas. Lifelong learning programs, concerning forestry education, adopted webinars as a solution for the spatially distributed learners. Conclusively, the results of the aforementioned studies showed that participants in lifelong learning programs expressed a preference for programs using webinars among other tools, since they facilitated the distant participation in such programs. The purpose of this study is to present the educational uses of Webinars in various lifelong learning programs in order to support educators to use Webinars. Keywords: E-learning, Webinars, Lifelong Learning 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 37 Comparing Three Instruments for Assessing Teachers' Burnout: MBI, BM and CBI Athina Daniilidou Maria Platsidou [email protected] Several studies conducted in the last decade to assess burnout of Greek primary school teachers showed that, according to their self-reports, they experienced lower levels of burnout in comparison to their peers in Western European and Northern American countries. (Aventisian– Pagoropoulou, Koumpias, & Giavrimis, 2002· Kantas. 1996· Papastylianou & Polyxronopoulos, 2007· Platsidou & Agaliotis, 2008). Most relevant studies have used the Maslach’s Burnout Inventory (MBI, Maslach & Jackson, 1982) to measure teachers' burnout. This fact raised the question whether the low burnout of Greek teachers is attributed to the MBI measurement. The study aimed at comparing measurements of burnout of Greek primary education teachers (N=320) obtained by three burnout instruments which reflected different theoretical approaches: the MBI (Maslach et al., 1996), the Burnout Measure (BM, Pines & Aronson, 1988), and the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory (CBI, Kristensen et al., 2005). The last two scales were used for the first time in Greek. Also, job satisfaction was used as a criterion variable and assessed using the Job Satisfaction Scale (JSS, Warr, Cook & Wall, 1979). More specifically, the study aimed at (1) testing the internal structure (factorial validity) and reliability of the aforementioned instruments and (2) exploring the relations among the different burnout measures obtained by the three instruments (convergent validity). Confirmatory factors analyses performed in three burnout instruments confirmed their factorial validity, although some reservations were noted for the CBI. All subscales were found to have good reliability indexes. CFA performed on the JSS did not confirm the two-factor model tested, so a score reflecting teachers' global job satisfaction was computed (α = .87). Consistent with prior studies of Greek primary school teachers, participants reported moderate burnout in all measures and moderately high satisfaction with their job. Correlations between the instruments were found to largely confirm the hypotheses, thus supporting convergent validity of the scales, with one exception: MB-physical exhaustion does not correlate significantly to depersonalization. Overall, the CBI subscales correlated higher with the other burnout measures as well as the JSS than the MBI or the MB subscales did. Results of the present study are discussed in relation to the previous findings of relevant Greek and international studies. Also, the strong and the weak points of each of the three burnout instruments used in the study are identified and discussed. Keywords: Burnout, Job Satisfaction, Teachers, Greek, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Burnout Measure, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 38 Learning Experiences Leave Their Mark on Pre-Service Teachers Aysun Erginer Ergin Erginer Tuba Acar Erdol [email protected] The purpose of the study is to identify what types of learning experiences have the most impact on pre-service teachers. The study was designed as a case study, and the sample was comprised of 748 pre-service teachers. The researchers devised a data collection tool containing items related to the gender of the pre-service teacher; the gender, discipline, and professional experience of his/her teacher; the grade, place, and time in which the incident took place; and the peculiarities and effects of what the pre-service teacher experienced. The pre-service teachers uploaded the data to the measuring instrument that the researchers had identified on Google Drive. The data were on the pre-service teachers registered for the Pedagogical Formation Certificate Program offered by Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University during the Spring Term of the 2013-2014 Academic Year. These data were then subjected to a descriptive content analysis. The preliminary findings suggested that students were more often affected by negative experiences, though they also had their share of positive experiences. Teachers try to establish a culture of obedience and fear, largely through the use of corporal punishment, insulting language and humiliation, and they imposed degrading punishments to ensure and maintain discipline. In addition, they exhibit behavior that is intolerant, biased, discriminatory, threatening, incriminating, distracting and discouraging. Their behavior is characterized by lack of selfcontrol and echoes their private life, resulting in negative influences on student achievement. They also appear to lack the academic knowledge and skills required for the practice of their profession. Attempts to discipline students through punishment lead students to feel themselves insufficient. Teachers’ use of physical violence following wrong answers by students to any given question leads the latter to adopt negative habits throughout the course of their educational life, including their reluctance to take the floor, express their ideas, speak in public and go to the blackboard. According to the pre-service teachers, such experiences make them lack selfconfidence and alienate them from the school, the course and the teacher. The responses by some of the pre-service teachers indicate that teachers come to school drunk and in inappropriate clothes and are incited to buy alcohol. Owing to undesirable teacher behavior, students might suffer from physical and psychological harm, and disagreements and factions can emerge at school or in the classroom; some students might even drop out or attempt suicide. Keywords: Teacher education, learning experiences, case study. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 39 Positive Psychology of Teachers Bahar Çağrı Şan Türkay Nuri Tok [email protected] Organizational commitment has become one of the essential needs of the modern world. Bayram (2005) defines organizational commitment as loyalty behavior of a worker for an organization and showing interest to make the organization successful. Balay (2000) defines the importance of organizational commitment for organizations as dismissal, job satisfaction, responsibility, personality of the workers, knowing organizational commitment breakers that individuals possess. Work engagement increases in situations that organizational commitment is strong and workers are devoted to their job. Nowadays many studies about education focus on factors that highlight the negative parts of employees. Fatigue, stress and conflict are example concepts of these studies. Work engagement is characterized just the opposite meaning of fatigue. Many synonym words are used for the meaning of Work engagement. Work engagement increases in situations that organizational commitment is strong and workers are devoted to their job. Esen (2011) defines work engagement as worker's desire, excited and energetic approach for organization. Esen (2011) emphasizes that individuals that have strong work engagement work voluntarily, hard, in long periods and make efforts much above their performance to live up to the aims of the organization. Ardıç and Polatcı (2009) express that there is "energy" instead of emotional exhaustion, "sense of belonging" instead of desensitization and "proficiency" instead of low personal success that emerge in exhaustion situations of work engagement. Ardıç and Polatcı (2009) analyze the work engagement strategies in as individual and commitment levels. The strategies of work engagement on commitment level are both more permanent than individual level and reinforce the idea of fatigue is an important problem in organization and should be prevented. The strategies of work engagement on individual level are consisted of increasing individual sources by changing the employees’ position, developing solutions or solutions that change the attitudes of employees towards their work. The objective of the research is to examine work engagement levels of teachers in terms of demographic variables. Database group of the research is comprised of 294 teachers who worked in Denizli province Kale country in between 2014 and 2015. To collect data during research, Allen Mayer’s Organizational Commitment Utrect Work Engagement Scale is used (UWES). Currently the research is in the process of data collecting. At the end of the study, the data will be analyzed by SPSS 16.0 program. The analysis of the study is still going on. Therefore, the finding, results and discussion sections haven’t been completed yet. Keywords: Organization, Organizational Commitment, Work Engagement, Demographic Variables 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 40 Prospective Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching Mathematics Through Tasks Bilge Yurekli Mine Isiksal-Bostan [email protected] Reform-oriented mathematics teaching requires teaching mathematics through tasks, in order to support the development of students’ mathematics learning with an understanding and their higher-order thinking skills. Teacher beliefs, as a strong determinant of teaching practices, influence the effectiveness of mathematics teaching through tasks. Therefore, it is the responsibility of teacher education programs to help future teachers establish strong and positive beliefs related to using tasks in mathematics classrooms. The purpose of this study was to examine the power of a mathematics teaching methods course focusing on teaching mathematics through tasks in order to contribute to the development of prospective teachers’ beliefs. In this qualitative case study, 9 prospective teachers enrolled in Elementary Mathematics Education program at a large public university in Ankara, Turkey were interviewed after completing a mathematics teaching methods course. Findings showed that methods course had the major impact on participants’ beliefs, since, as students of traditional classrooms, their previous experiences with mathematical tasks were limited. Participants stated that in methods class they were introduced to mathematical tasks for the first time. Thus, they believed methods course should have been offered earlier than third year in the program so as to provide them with more opportunities to learn and practice using mathematical tasks. In general, the influence of methods course was mainly positive, and at the end of the methods course, participants believed that through mathematical tasks, students could learn mathematics with an understanding, instead of memorizing procedures and rules; overcome misconceptions; be responsible for their own learning; feel confident about their capabilities; and finally enjoy learning mathematics. Their beliefs about disadvantages of tasks were that using mathematical tasks could be time consuming and cause classroom management issues. As a result, prospective teachers believed that teaching mathematics only through tasks was not possible, that teachers should integrate both mathematical tasks and traditional methods in their teaching. Keywords: mathematical tasks, prospective teachers, beliefs 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 41 Using Children Drawings as a Reflective Technique: Example Of Artist Concept Burçin Türkcan [email protected] Executing educational activities efficiently is based on the teacher’s professional quality to a large extent. Teachers not only have responsibilities such as regulating the settings in the classroom, making plans and servicing an efficient teaching, but also recognizing and guiding the students effectively. One of the techniques that can be used by teachers to recognize the students is children drawings. It is because children intimately reflect the perceptions of their inner world and their environment. Perception which is formed by combining both individual experiences and meanings given to cultural codes constitutes creating the impression of the environment through the senses of the individual and the process of reacting to the environment by created meanings. As a reflective technique, children drawings are a language by which children can express their perception and meaning systems intimately. Specifying what kind of perception a student has on various issues helps the teachers recognize their students better. Because of this, in the study, analyzing the meanings that children give to a concept and the clues given to teachers by using what kind of perceptions that children have at their inner worlds is exemplified through a concept selected. We choose a sample concept, whose integrity of meaning has been changed by the multiple stimulants of today’s world which consists of communication, media and technology-intensive life. As the emphasis of postmodern era on the visuals has increased, singularism has taken the place of pluralism and the concepts of art through the influence of popular culture have changed, we have chosen the “artist” concept. The purpose of this research is to present primary school students' perceptions about the concept of artist. The study was conducted with art-based research method. Sampling criteria was used to determine the sampling criteria and 103 students from lower socio-economic and upper socioeconomic schools participated in the study. For the collection of research data, the document analysis of the pictures that the students drew and the structured interviews by which the students expressed their opinions about these pictures were used. The data obtained were analyzed through descriptive analysis. According to the findings, it was found out that primary school students mostly perceived artist concept as pop music artists or artists who drew a picture in front of the canvas. While the students from upper socio-economic schools associated artist concept to pop music artists, a significant proportion of the students from lower socio-economic schools associated artist concept to painters. Based on these findings, in the research, the impacts of popular culture on varied socio-economic status students were discussed and the diversification of diagnostic techniques used by teachers was exemplified. Keywords: Primary school, children drawings, perception, artist, popular culture. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 42 Evaluation of Origami Activities Created by Prospective Class Teachers Burcu Sezginsoy Şeker [email protected] The aim of this study was to determine the opinions of the prospective class teachers who prepared origami for different discipline areas. Origami is the art of paper-folding in Japan. Figures created from folded a paper, leaving a concrete impact on the learning of individuals. This situation raises the use of origami in teaching classes consisting of abstract concepts to the forefront. Class teachers can create limitless and different figures with origami materials such as concrete figures like animal or stuff, three dimensional geometric figures and fragmental origami as using same pieces. In this research, prospective class teachers created origami activities that could be used in different discipline areas within the scope of visual arts education. This research was carried out with thirty-five undergraduate students at Balıkesir University, Faculty of Necatibey Education, Primary School Teaching Undergraduate Program. A form was given to the students in the research that included open-ended questions requiring consideration of origami activities which they had prepared. The answers that students provided to the questions in consideration form were recorded and expression in the answers were summarized and interpreted with descriptive analysis technique. Keywords: Origami, prospective class teachers, art activities 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 43 The Perceived Effects of Career Progression Barriers of Female Teachers C. Ergin Ekinci [email protected] As it is the case in many countries, although women represent the majority of the teaching workforce (55,5%) in schools in Turkey, they are disproportionately under-represented in school management positions (about 3%). Therefore, it is important to identify the factors hindering the career development of women teachers in schools in order to contribute into the development of activities and policies enabling them to access management positions. The study aims to be useful within this respect. The main purpose of the study is to identify the perceived effects of career progression barriers (related with gendered home responsibilities, social gender stereo-types, school setting and its environment, education, working hours, economy, age and marital status) of female teachers based on male and female teachers` perceptions. Within this general frame, the following questions were addressed; 1. To what extend the above mentioned barriers hinder the career advancement of female teachers?; 2. Are there any significant differences between the perceptions of teachers about the barriers hindering career progression of female teachers by gender, school type and seniority? The data of this descriptive study were collected through the administration of a five point Likert scaled questionnaire to randomly selected 446 elementary and lower-secondary education teachers in the city of Van, Turkey. The mean scores of career-related barriers were calculated. One way ANOVA and t-test for independent groups were used to test whether mean scores were significantly different on the basis of gender, school type and seniority. Significance value less than 0.05 stipulates that there is a significant differentiation among/between the perceptions of diverse groups of a variable. The major results of the study indicate that the teachers find (1) gendered home responsibilities related reasons as a very highly hindering barrier of career progression of the female teachers with 3,72 mean score, and (2) social gender stereo-types related reasons with 2,89 mean score and education, working hours, economy, age and marital status related reasons with 2,75 mean score as moderately hindering barriers of career progression of the female teachers. The mean scores of teacher perceptions on home responsibilities (t=4,409, p= ,000), social gender stereotypes (t=2,739, p=,006) show significant difference by gender in favor of female teachers. There is also significant difference between the mean scores of teacher perceptions on gender and stereo-types (t= 444, p= ,029) in Cavour of lower-secondary school teachers. Seniority is not influential on the perceptions of teachers. Keywords: Career development, barriers of career development of female teachers. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 44 The Relationship between Prospective Teachers’ Educational Beliefs and their Views about Critical Pedagogy Çağlar Kaya Sinem Kaya [email protected] The main idea of this research is to determine prospective teachers’ educational beliefs and their views about critical pedagogy. Therefore the purpose of this research is to analyze the relationship between prospective teachers’ educational beliefs and their views about critical pedagogy. In this study, “Educational Beliefs Scale”, developed by Yılmaz, Altınkurt and Çokluk (2011) is used with the “Principals of Critical Pedagogy Scale” developed by Yılmaz (2009). Based on the Educational Beliefs Scale, five theories on educational philosophy including: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, Reconstructionalism, and Existentionalism are examined. Besides, Education System, Functions of School and the Emancipator School dimensions of the Principals of Critical Pedagogy Scale are analyzed. The research is conducted as a survey model study. The sample of the research comprises of last grade graduate students from the different departments of the Faculty of Education in Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University. The data analysis is still in progress. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA analysis will be applied to the data collected in the data analysis process. The findings will be presented according to the research questions of the study. In addition the findings will be discussed with the related literature at the end of the paper. Keywords: Prospective teachers, educational beliefs, educational philosophy, critical pedagogy, critical thinking 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 45 Prospective Middle School Teachers’ Perspectives about Model Eliciting Tasks Celil Karabaş Osman Bağdat H. Bahadır Yanık Yasin Memiş [email protected] Mathematical modelling may be defined as a process of analyzing real life or realistic life situations mathematically. The steps of this process constructed differently by different authors and in any way, while struggling with model eliciting tasks, there may happen turn backs and transitions through the steps. With group activities, carried on with 3 or 4 students, abilities such as organizing data, communication, using mathematics and verification may be developed. The purpose of the study was to define the views of prospective middle school mathematics teachers who solved model eliciting tasks in a mathematical modelling course. The data was collected from 27 prospective teachers through open ended questions. The findings discussed under three headings: (1) the definitions of prospective mathematics teachers about model eliciting tasks, (2) positive and negative views of prospective mathematics teachers to model eliciting tasks and (3) attitudes about using model eliciting tasks in their mathematics classrooms. The prospective mathematics teachers generally stated that model eliciting tasks were away from rote memorization approach, combined the abstract part of mathematics with real life, didactic and enjoyable. They stated that model eliciting tasks developed various mathematical skills such as problem solving, functional and relational thinking, algebraic thinking, mathematical thinking, making generalizations, questioning, analyzing and interpreting, They indicated that model eliciting problems provided opportunities to transfer real-life information to the problems and vice versa. The negative views of prospective mathematics teachers were that: Model eliciting problems were generally scary at first glance, long, challenging and difficult to define variables and they had no definite answer. The prospective teachers mostly indicated that they might use model eliciting problems in their classrooms. However, because of model eliciting tasks couldn’t be applied to any subject, they might use them mostly in elective courses. While a few prospective teacher argued that because of tiring and taking time, model eliciting tasks caused negative attitude to mathematics so it shouldn’t be used in mathematics classes. In conclusion, there were many different views about model eliciting problems. The prospective teachers generally agreed that model eliciting tasks provided various skills to students. However, the negative views generally focused on the challenge of the implementation process of model eliciting tasks. Keywords: Prospective middle school mathematics teachers, mathematical modeling 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 46 A Teacher Perspective on Using Model Eliciting Tasks Celil Karabaş Osman Bağdat H. Bahadır Yanık [email protected] The process of finding out mathematical rules embedded in real life or realistic life situations is defined “mathematical modelling”, and the physical and symbolic expression of these rules is defined as “model”. Model eliciting tasks provides opportunities to students to be aware of mathematical concepts and to develop the ability of overcoming these problems faced in real life. The purpose of this study was to explore a middle school mathematics teacher’s experiences about using model eliciting tasks in his fifth grade class. The data collected through interviews and document analysis. The findings of the study suggested that initially while the teacher faced with various challenges in implementing model eliciting tasks in his classroom, later he was able to transform his classroom’s environment into model exploration. The teacher stated that the most challenging issue he had to deal with was about transferring his classroom environment in a way that students’ explore mathematical models. Also, because of getting used to the problems which had definite answers, it was difficult to perceive model eliciting problems with multiple solution paths. Furthermore, sometimes it was hard to keep down the student groups who were in interaction. Although the teacher faced various challenges, he indicated that if these challenges were overcome, applying model eliciting tasks might provide utilities. A well prepared context and group interactions might even provide uninterested students to involve in a problem. Furthermore, group interactions might uncover several creative ideas. He also stated that with model eliciting tasks, students would use mathematics in real life and they would be aware the need of mathematics in different disciplines. The mathematics teacher proposed to the teachers who wanted to apply model eliciting tasks in their classrooms that they should combine theory and practice of model eliciting tasks and use technology. As a result, although it is hard to get a habit of applying model eliciting tasks in classrooms, if accomplished, the students may acquire various skills at the end of this process. Keywords: model eliciting tasks, mathematics teacher, view 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 47 Teacher Improvement through the Design, Implementation and Evaluation of a Flipped Classroom Christina Bourlaki Domna-Mika Kakana [email protected] An effective teacher, who is confronted with daily challenges in education, experiments on new teaching approaches in order to improve him/herself, as well as his/her work and its effectiveness, which of course is directly linked to the learners’ learning benefits in parallel to the satisfaction they acquire from the learning process. Flipped Instruction (FI) is an innovative teaching method applied by a teacher– researcher in the 5th grade of a Primary School. FI is a kind of blended learning, which involves the learner in watching video recorded lessons at their own, private space prior to entering the class, with an eye to exploiting the teaching session for cooperative activities. The aim of this research has been to design FI for the subject of Geography and explore its effectiveness in learning, as well as the effectiveness of the teacher– researcher. A semi-experimental design has been developed for two different 5th grade classes, which have approached the same concepts in the subject of Geography with a different teaching approach, in order to be able to obtain comparable data. The experience of teaching Geography through FI for the first time has been quite demanding in the preparation of each one of the ten teaching sessions and their execution via LAMS, in order to ensure that the content of the video recorded lesson was adequately comprehensible and the activities in the classroom were supportive in the consolidation of the various concepts. However, it has been estimated that the time required is not a lot more than the time dedicated in the preparation for traditional teaching for the delivery of a lecture and the preparedness to answer the learners’ emerging questions. By means of the Flipped Classroom, the role of the teacher who holds the knowledge has been transformed to the one who facilitates it. Upon teaching in the classroom, the researcher – teacher has assumed the role of the coordinator and facilitator. The other group, which has operated as a Control Group, has followed a traditional teaching course. Pre-testing and posttesting have been applied in order to assess the performance of the learners. The integrated analysis has shown that FI is an effective teaching method for the subject of Geography of the 5th grade. To be more precise, it has been observed that the average performance of the learners of the First Group has steadily increased, but, what is more, compared to the Control Group, there has been significant increase in the degree of satisfaction derived from the teaching approach and the degree of willingness to cooperate in the First Group. Finally, according to some of the most significant findings, we believe that this particular model has improved the teacher not to be afraid to experiment with new approaches and that the traditional lesson is not always more effective. Keywords: Flipped Classroom Flipped Teaching, Video Recorded Lessons, Collaborative Learning, Performance, Satisfaction 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 48 The Academic Teacher as a Practical Training Supervisor: Towards a Quality Guide of Good Practices Christina Roussi – Vergou Faye Garagouni – Areou Anastasia Mavidou Domna – Mika Kakana [email protected] As the literature recognizing the practical training (internship) as a valuable step in the transition from education to professional life (European Youth Forum, 2013) flourishes, the lack of clear quality guidelines concerning the role of the academic supervisor becomes more evident, resulting in undermining the main purpose of internships as educational opportunities that give practical skills to young people. In Greece, the Practical Training (or Internship Program) is already an embedded procedure in the academic curricula of the Greek Universities. Practical Training programs are currently supported by the co-funded European Programs “EDULL 20072013” since the practical training programs are becoming an organic part of the academic curriculum of the Universities in Greece, the role of the academic supervision on how the goals of the practical training will be accomplished, evolves more critical. Yet, very little is known about the role of the academic supervision and each performance and it is a misconception that academic supervision can be delivered by anyone who has academic teaching experience (Anderson, Major, & Mitchell, 1992). The purpose of our study is to cast some light on the role of the academic supervisor, according to the evaluations of about 3,000 university students who participated in the practical training program of the University of Thessaly, during the period 2011-2014. Qualitative thematic analysis with the use of the NVivo program was performed. According to students, the supervisor should have a more active role, be more available and offer more extended guidance. As no academic supervisors’ guidelines are available so far, our discussion of the findings, with special focus on the good practices, shall pursue the ultimate goal of the proposal of a “manual” which shall include all the good practices, a kind of a Quality Guide of Academic Supervisors. Keywords: Academic Supervision, Practical Training, Internship 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 49 Primary Teachers' Professional Development in Instructional Design: Blending Formal and Non-Formal Settings Christina Tsaliki Georgios Malandrakis Petros Kariotoglou [email protected] The present study is part of a larger professional development (PD) program regarding in-service science teachers’ education (STED) aiming to broaden their teaching and inquiry views and practices. In this participatory design research a mixed group approach was adopted. In particular, two primary and two secondary teachers were engaged, in order to be familiarized, in cooperation with researchers group, to the instructional design, putting emphasis on the development of Teaching Learning Sequences (TLS) and on the incorporation of informal settings into their teaching. STED is consisted of three phases: In first phase, participants’ initial teaching profile was outlined, and a TLS concerning materials used in telecommunications, along with a site visit to Greek telecom were also prepared. In the second phase, teachers were trained in current trends of Science Education and they familiarized with the given TLS. Following this, they adapted and implemented the given TLS to the particular teaching and learning conditions of their class. In 3rd phase, teachers developed their own TLS within the topic of renewable and non-renewable energy sources and Electromagnetism applications for energy generation. They also organized a site visit to a local power station plant. In the present study we record, analyze and discuss changes observed only to primary teachers during the 3rd phase of the program. Throughout all phases, changes in teachers' profile were captured using multiple data sources (i.e. classroom observations, teachers' interviews, teachers and researchers' diaries). Data was gathered and independently analyzed by two researchers using standard qualitative analysis methods. Results indicate progressive broadening in teachers’ practices during the project’s phases. Starting from a teacher-centered teaching approach they gradually progressed towards more guided discovery (2nd phase), while during the 3rd phase they created their own worksheets and applied inquiry teaching combined with jigsaw type group work. Progression was more evident in relevance to teaching, where more open inquiry methods were implemented, as well as to verbal communication, use of ICT and experimenting skills. Teachers noted that the scaffolding design of the participatory research enabled them to be familiarized with inquirybased instructional design and felt more confident and motivated to adopt similar approaches in the future. Other professional development gains were also mentioned, mainly concerning teacher reflection, handling student group-work and organizing site visits with focused pre, during and post visit activities. Students’ progress was also reported as an encouraging factor, as they became more creative through inquiry, improving their searching and metacognitive skills. *This paper is made under the project "ARISTEIA II", action: "SCIENCE TEACHERS EDUCATION" which was implemented within the framework of the European Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" and co-funded by the European Union and national resources. Keywords: Professional development, science teacher education, instructional design, Teaching Learning Sequences (TLS), non-formal education. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 50 (Re) Construction of Identities in Digital Learning Environments: A Case of Luganda Language Education Teacher-Trainees at Makerere University David Kabugo Fred Masagazi Masaazi Anthony Muwagagga Mugagga [email protected] At various educational institutions in Uganda and beyond, the use of digital learning environments is on the rise with the intent to transform students’ learning. One of the key indicators of transformation in students’ learning is the ability of students to utilize digital learning environments to produce learning artefacts that embody, enact and perpetuate their identities. Although digital learning environments have potential to retain artefacts of students’ learning, questions regarding the nature of identities that such artefacts enact and perpetuate, remain underexplored. In this chapter, we report on how we utilized Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to analyze the learning artefacts that Language Education teacher-trainees at Makerere University created in a semester-long course that was mediated by Wikispaces. Results show that engagement in production of learning artefacts using Wikispaces enacted and perpetuated trainees’ cultural, natural, institutional, professional, affinitive, and discursive identities. Keywords: Emerging Technologies (ETs), Online Learning Artefacts, Digital Identities, and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 51 Student Teachers’ and Teacher Educators’ Reflections on Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Demet Yayli [email protected] Listening comprehension plays an unarguably huge role in communication. Since listening comprehension is at the heart of L2 learning, the development of second language (L2) listening skills influences the development of other skills (Dunkel, 1991). In spite of the huge role listening plays in communication, L2 listening comprehension is “the least researched of all four language skills” (Vandergrift, 2007, p. 191). In order to provide an effective L2 listening instruction, teachers must have a meticulous understanding of different dimensions of listening skill. As we all know “[a] narrow focus on the right answer to comprehension questions (product) does little help students understand and control the process leading to comprehension” in listening (Vandergrift, 2007, p. 191). The ubiquity of anxious learners in foreign language (FL) classes and potentially detrimental effects of anxiety on learners deserve a strong concern by teachers. Language anxiety is described as “the feeling of tension and apprehension specifically associated with second language contexts, including speaking, listening and learning” (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994). Teachers and students generally feel that anxiety is an obstacle to L2 learning. Therefore, some foreign language teaching methods like Community Language Learning and Suggestopedia provide ways to reduce learner anxiety in language classrooms. According to MacIntyre and Gardner (1989), language anxiety develops if students experience negative emotions and attitudes in FL learning environments. And when these negative experiences persist, students perform poorly and this causes a negative impact on students’ learning. The present research is, therefore, intended to report on listening anxiety experienced in language classes. A group of student teachers and teacher educators participated in this study to reflect on their own and their students’ listening anxiety. Possible causes and effects of listening anxiety and ways of dealing with it were searched through a semi-structured interview with a group of student teachers studying in an ELT program at a state university in Turkey. Also, I interviewed a group of volunteering teacher educators who worked in an ELT program and instructed listening classes to capture their views on their students’ listening anxiety. The views gathered will be discussed in the light of the existing research and some implications will be provided. Keywords: Foreign Language Education, Foreign Language Listening Anxiety, English Language Teaching, Teacher Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 52 The Effect of Performance Tasks on Teaching English Vocabulary Derya Kılıç [email protected] This study was carried out to investigate the effect of performance tasks on teaching English vocabulary. It was conducted with the participation of 7th grade students. In this study, quasi experimental design with control group and qualitative data were collected by conducting interviews with students and teacher observations. The teaching-learning process in the experimental group was carried out by introducing performance tasks. In this test, the students were asked to find out Turkish meanings and word classes of English vocabularies. Their answers were scored separately including their Turkish meanings and word classes. In comparison of experimental and control groups’ success points, dependent and unrelated t-test was used. The research’s qualitative data obtained from students’ opinions and teacher observations were analyzed descriptively. In this examination, units with the same meaning were grouped under a common code by bringing them together. Data obtained from teacher’s observation were recorded by writing them individually and they were analyzed descriptively, too. The study was carried out within the creating ‘classroom vocabulary notebook’ performance task and limited to the vocabulary items in unit ‘computers’. Experimental group consisting of 29 students were divided into 3 groups and these words were distributed to each group equally. Students were asked to learn their own words and teach them to other students. The aim was to enable students learn and teach vocabulary extracurricularly. 27 students were involved in control group of research and traditional teaching methods were used in the teaching-learning process of this group. Students in the experimental group reached 5.62 average score at beginning of the study and 22.14 average score at the end of the study. At the end of the study, the pre-test and post-test scores were compared by t-test and it was indicated that such activities were more effective in students’ learning Turkish meanings and word classes of English vocabularies. Traditional teaching-learning activities performed in the control group increased the students' average score from 8.78 to 9.22. In addition, students’ views suggested that performance tasks contributed positively to students’ developing collaboration skills and their learning in an effective and enjoyable way. On the other hand, according to teachers’ observations, it was noted that students had difficulty in group work activities such as performance tasks in terms of collaboration, taking the responsibility of their own learning and teaching, and task sharing. Keywords: Performance task, teaching vocabulary techniques, cooperative learning, teaching vocabulary, peer teaching 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 53 ELT Student Teachers' Perceptions about Learner Autonomy in a Turkish State University Derya Oktar Ergür [email protected] Learner autonomy has grown fast over the last three decades as an area of interest in language learning and teaching process with a change from teacher-centeredness to learnercenteredness in education. Benson (2001:7) suggests that learner autonomy has become a precondition for effective learning. Based on this idea, it is imperative that teachers and foreign language curriculum designers benefit from the implementation of learner autonomy in their actual classroom environments to help their students take more responsibility for their own learning process. However, in-service language teachers still struggle with the ways to promote learner autonomy or at least to encourage their students to grasp the meaning of autonomy in their learning environments (Dickinson, 1992; Nunan, 1997; Littlewood, 1997; Brajcich, 2000; Hurd, Beaven and Ortega, 2001). There is evidence in research studies to support the claim that increasing the level of learner control will increase the level of self-determination, thereby increasing overall motivation in the development of learner autonomy. Therefore it is vital that students be involved in making decisions about their own learning process. In this process as Barfield (2001:3) argues, teachers have a crucial role since the ability to behave autonomously for students is dependent upon their teachers’ creating a classroom where autonomy is accepted as a culture. Therefore, without any autonomy-oriented training, language teachers may experience difficulties in creating such a classroom culture. On the basis of this framework, it can be easily said that language teachers need to experience autonomous skills during their teacher training so that they will be equipped with the necessary skills of learner autonomy before they graduate. The purpose of this study is to get an understanding of ELT student teachers’ perceptions about learner autonomy in Hacettepe University context and to provide some suggestions to the teacher educators at ELT Departments. The study employed a surveybased collection on 94 senior student teachers at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey. The quantitative data were derived by a questionnaire developed by Camilleri (1997) consisting of fifteen items on a five-point scale of agreement. A demographic information form was included to get some data about the student teachers’ gender, proficiency level in English and cumulative academic average. In addition, to strengthen the study design, the respondents were also asked to share their insights and views regarding their perceptions of learner autonomy, the importance of autonomy, strategies that can be used in and outside the classroom and the teaching and learning environment in Turkey. Quantitative data was presented by using descriptive statistics (the percentages of responses) and the results of the statistical analysis were found using SPSS 15 for Windows. Qualitative data was analyzed by representing the frequencies. In the light of the findings, some recommendations about the various components of learning- teaching process were given to the teacher educators. Keywords: ELT student teachers, learner autonomy, perceptions, Turkey 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 54 A Study on Pre-Service Teachers’ Emotions in a Turkish Context Derya Yayli [email protected] The issue of identity formation in teacher education research has recently grown interest in teacher emotions. The individual and professional development of teachers is now believed to have a lot to do with positive and negative emotions as emotions account for commitment to change. Thus studying emotions could provide us with a deep insight into the procedures through which in-service and pre-service teachers change, construct and co-construct their identities. With this asset in mind, this study aims to investigate the emotions of pre-service teachers of Turkish language at a state university in Turkey. Despite numerous studies in the literature, no studies have been carried out in the Turkish context. Some research to be conducted in different settings like Turkey could make a contribution to the field of teacher education. This study, therefore, looks into the emotions of 11 pre-service teachers in the spring term as they perform their teaching at schools. Participants have an age average of 21.65, and 7 of them are female and 4 are male. The data were collected through journals and face to face semi-structured interviews. They volunteered to keep journals throughout the spring term and were interviewed at the beginning and at the end of the term. In their journals, they made weekly entries about how their emotions changed and developed during the period of faculty-school collaboration. They were asked to make their reflections and stances as critical as they could. For the rest of the study, a content analysis will be used to analyze the qualitative data. The codes and themes will be obtained from the analysis and comments will be made with reference to the literature. For the reliability of the study, another researcher from the field will be consulted. If there is any disagreement about the coding, the related points will be negotiated. The findings from the study will be discussed and implications for teacher education and further research will be made. Keywords: pre-service teacher educations; identity development; emotions 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 55 Questioning in Primary School Mathematics: An Analysis Of Questions Teachers Ask in Mathematics Lessons Despina Desli Elisavet Galanopoulou [email protected] Research examining teacher questioning has shown the importance of the kinds of questions teachers ask. In particular, effective questioning has been linked with argumentation and classroom communication as well as with promoting students’ understanding and learning, extending students’ ideas and helping them to construct scientific knowledge. The purpose of the present study was to examine the place and frequency of questions addressed by primary school teachers to children when teaching mathematics. For this purpose, observation took place with two experienced in-service primary school teachers in the course of four mathematics lessons in order: a) to identify whether three types of questions, namely probing, guiding and factual questions, were implemented in their classes and b) to study the frequency of these three types of questions. Interviews were also conducted to further investigate teachers’ perceptions of questioning in mathematics as well as issues related to reasons for asking particular types of questions in mathematics lessons. Observation data showed that probing questions (‘How do you know that…?’, ‘Can you explain why..?’) were rarely used by either teacher. One of the teachers asked more factual questions (‘What is the definition of …?’, ‘What number did you get to?’) overall than the other teacher who mostly posed guiding questions (‘What was your strategy?’, ‘What will you do next?’). In the interviews, both teachers recognized that particular parts of a lesson -in relation to the mathematical content involved- allow for particular types of questions asked by teachers. For example, asking probing questions were considered more appropriate for the summary part of a lesson, whereas factual questions for the introduction part of a lesson when checking previous knowledge was needed. Probing questions were highly valued by both teachers who believed that this type of questions gave children the opportunity to justify their ideas and improved their thinking, thus, they should be addressed more frequently in mathematics lessons. However, observation data revealed that the opposite really happened. As both teachers realize, the act of asking a question with specific indicators is cognitively demanding and requires that they know their learners’ mathematical knowledge well. Findings of the study reveal the importance of questioning in mathematics teaching and learning in the primary school. Keywords: Primary school mathematics, questions, teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 56 Teacher Training and the Case of International Baccalaureate Organization: The Emergence of a New Teachers’ Professional Identity in Light of New Modes Of Global Governance in Education Despina Tsakiri Sofia Smyrni Dimitra Pavlina Nikita [email protected] The modern competitive society seems to be dominated by a constant struggle for accumulation of knowledge, higher aims and achievements. Education plays the role of catalyst in this context. The commodification of knowledge at a global level not only by the nations but also by the international, economic and educational organizations appears to be a strong and sufficient condition that ensures participation in the globalized educational field. In that regard, International Baccalaureate (IB), which was the research topic of the present proposal, seems to be one of the key components of this field. The data collection included annual reviews retrieved from the IB Organisation (IBO) covering the period 2007-2013 which were put in the center of a documentary analysis. The overarching aim was to study the evolution of IB as an institution, to adumbrate the profile of the organization which is responsible for the implementation of the program and to investigate the role of IB in the current global educational field. A set of qualitative and quantitative data helped to shed light on various issues regarding international education and IB schools. However, of particular interest and with regard to the scope of this proposal is the profile of the teacher of IB schools as it emerged through the data analysis. The teacher seems to be considered as an invaluable component within the context of IB schools in their attempt to take the lead role in the context of international education. As a result, the continuous professional development (CPD) of teachers is a pivotal issue. In light of above, teacher training appears in the texts of all the reviews, particularly in the one of 2013 as a strategic priority for the IBO. Neoliberal ideas that foster a culture of competitiveness, the need to perform better, improve and be more effective, tend to infiltrate the CPD of teachers, which has become a tool to promote new forms of governance in education. Local and in-house training are waning and other types of training are reinforced, i.e. training that embodies the features of international education and which is delivered through networks and co-operations with governments and other international organizations. In the aftermath of this new dimension attributed to teacher training by IBO and within the new context for the CPD of teachers, a new teachers’ professional identity seems to rise which is aligned with and governed by the principles of the globalized educational field. Keywords: Teacher training, Continuous professional development, International Baccalaureate Organization, Professional identity, Global governance, Global Education Field 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 57 In-Service Teacher Continuing Training in Greece: An Overview of Institutional Training Despoina Styla Aikaterini Michalopoulou [email protected] Continuing training activities seek to update, develop and broaden the knowledge teachers acquired during the initial teacher education and provide them with new skills and professional understanding. It is necessary for teachers to update their skills, especially in the context in which the school situation has changed (introduction of new curriculum, new research on teaching, and adaptation to the changes in student needs due to socio-economic evolutions). Legislation, concerning teacher training in Greece, can be traced back to 1910 with the establishment of the “Didaskaleion”, a training institute for Secondary Education teachers (Official Gazette A152/22-4-1910), while in 1922, Law number 2857 (Official Gazette, A133/18-1922) introduced training programs for Primary Education teachers at the University of Athens. The education reform of 1976 created professional teacher training schools for elementary and secondary teachers, called “SELDE-SELME”, which offered in-service training for one year. An attempt to improve the above teacher training system led to the setting up of a network of regional centers for professional training (known as PEKs). Their establishment was proposed in 1981, enacted in 1985 and implemented in 1992, for newly appointed teachers. Their training aimed to provide knowledge about the use of teaching methods, assessment and class management. A major innovation was the implementation, under Law number 2986 (Official Gazette, A24/13-2-2002), of the Teacher Training Agency (OEPEK), supervised by the Greek Minister of Education, responsible for setting training policy, coordinating and implementing training activities. This paper aims to present and analyze the above training institutes and compare them, in order to examine the problems teachers faced all those years throughout their training, within the framework of those institutes, and the progress (made or not) in the organization of Greek in-service training by those institutes. The results seem to be encouraging as far as the quality of the offered training is concerned and this is very important because teacher training has a significant impact on teachers’ behaviors, teaching skills and most of all on the students’ outcomes. Keywords: Greece, in-service, continuing, training, training institutes, problems, progress, quality. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 58 Undergraduate Student Teachers’ Views about the Implementation of Differentiated Instruction in Primary School Classrooms during a School Teaching Practice Program Diamanto Filippatou Evgenia Vassilaki Stavroula Kaldi [email protected] During the last decade international literature illustrates the educational challenge of serving academically diverse learners in regular classroom. In order to address the educational challenge of learner diversity researchers have proposed the implementation of differentiated instruction which is regarded as a philosophy in new pedagogies. Differentiated instruction refers to a teaching process based on teaching routines that correspond to the large span of pupils’ differences in mixed ability classrooms, such as pupils’ readiness, interests and learning style in order to maximize the learning opportunities for every pupil. However, it can be claimed that many teacher education programs are not adequately preparing prospective teachers for the inevitable increase in academic and cultural diversity among students. In the Greek context data on how student teachers experience the implementation of differentiated instruction in the primary school classroom have not been reported. Moreover, similar research in the international context is scarce. Based on the above the aim of the present study was to investigate undergraduate student teachers’ views about the implementation of differentiated instruction in primary mainstream school classrooms during the component of their school teaching practice. The present research is qualitative. Participants were 180 student teachers following an undergraduate four-year university-based course. Three cohorts of student teachers (between the academic years 2009-2010 and 2011-2012) implemented a two-teaching hour language lesson under the principles and appropriate strategies of differentiated instruction during the last component of their school teaching practice in the final year of their studies. After the implementation phase each student teacher produced a written reflection on this task. Therefore, the research instrument used was written texts. Content analysis was carried out in order to identify the main axes of student teachers’ views on the above issues. From the outcomes of the study it appears that although the majority of student teachers reported that it was necessary to differentiate instruction in the classroom, they seemed to lack a universal concept of differentiated instruction philosophy. As a result, pre-service teachers reported conflicting beliefs regarding planning and implementing differentiated instruction. Qualitative data revealed that differentiated instruction had a positive impact on all pupils’ participation in the lesson and on pupils with low achievement and learning difficulties engagement in the learning process as well as on their feelings about learning. Keywords: student teachers, differentiated instruction, reflecting writing 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 59 The Views of Uludağ University State Conservatory Middle School Students about Living Beings and Vitality Attributes Dilek Zeren Özer Sema Nur Güngör Muhlis Özkan [email protected] One of five learning domains in the primary education science and technology course is ‘Living Beings and Life’. In this learning domain, the concept of living being has to be internalized very well. In learning this concept, students put what they have in their minds in action to perceive it rather than understanding it based on what they are reading and listening to. As a result, confusion comes out, and it becomes difficult to learn concepts (Kılıç et al., 2001). Showing the development of the concept of living being in children, Piaget (1929) found that children regarded anything having a function or an activity as a living being initially (at the age of 3 to 7) and started to consider anything that moved as a living being later on (at the age of 7 to 8). Some studies report that activity is the preeminent vitality attribute in children’s minds (Tamir et al., 1981; Kılıç et al., 2001; Bahar et al., 2002). This study aims to identify the views of middle school 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students attending the Uludağ University State Conservatory about living beings and vitality attributes. Developmental research method, which is a descriptive research approach, was used and it is a cross-sectional study. 31 students (23 females and 8 males) participated in the study. A survey consisting of two chapters was used for data collection. In the first part of the survey, 17 living and non-living beings were listed. Then the students were requested to explain their reasons for calling these things “living” or “nonliving”. In the second part, 10 open-ended questions were used in order to allow students to explain their views about living beings and vitality attributes more thoroughly. Consequently, students from the 5th grade to the 8th grade had difficulty in making a distinction between living and non-living things. Likewise, the students called bread yeast non-living and vitamins living. To students from all grades (from the 5th to the 8th), breathing was the first attribute associated with vitality. When the common features of living beings were questioned, breathing was stated first by students from all grades; moving was stated second by the 5th and the 6th grade students while living, reproducing, and growing were stated second by the 7th and the 8th grade students. To the students, it is a living being because it grows up. Generally, these results of in this study indicate that the children don’t have correct understanding and learning about living beings and vitality attributes. It is recommended to the teachers can be used “real” living organisms that provides a concrete and productive context for students to observe and analyze the various types of structures in organisms to improve concepts living beings and vitality attributes that students have. Keywords: Living Beings and Vitality, Middle School Students 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 60 E-Mentoring: Experimental Application of a Modern Model of Support oo Students in The Preparation, Design and Implementation of Practical Training Domna – Mika Kakana [email protected] Katiphenia Chatzopoulou Vitsou Magda Χiradaki Eleni Anastasia Mavidou Contemporary changes and challenges at all levels of society and education respectively require adaptations in the field of initial teacher training that will harmonize with both the theoretical and professional training, in order to smoothly introduce prospective teachers in the profession. According to contemporary issues in teacher education, the most effective model to achieve this goal is the model of the reflective teacher, the teacher as a researcher. The review of the curricula shows that most Pedagogical Departments of Early Education in Greece and abroad have focused on developing this model. In the international literature, teacher education programs promote the model of mentor, oriented in this direction. Until 2012 in Greece, the role of the mentor was assigned to supervisor teachers (preschool teachers who had been working in the University for a specified period). Having no further training or post graduate studies they had charge of both the administrative and the supervisory duties, a quite multidisciplinary activity which caused many difficulties. Apart from the problems described above, the economic crisis in Greece enforced new laws that deprived the Pedagogical Departments of the support and even the presence of these teachers in order to find more financial resources. Facing the ineffectiveness and in efficiency of this classical non applicable model of mentor, we were forced to propose an alternative approach. In this perspective the case of e-mentoring (Telementoring, Cybermentoring, Virtual Mentoring), which has been used to some universities internationally, is clearly more applicable. The e-mentoring is defined as the communication between the student and the mentor, using the computer in the frame of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), such as e-mail, chat rooms, blogs, Web conferencing, social media, Skype etc., solutions based on the internet and propose a new way that the mentors and students interact, communicate and collaborate. The present study was motivated by these concerns and attempts to present the data collected through questionnaires when the experimental application of the e-mentoring model took place to support the students of the University of Thessaly, Department of Early Childhood Education during their last academic year (2014 – 2015). The pre graduate students had all the simultaneous support from the ementors in order to prepare, design and finally implement their practical training. The research results which are still under elaboration, highlight issues related to the improvement of apprenticeship and emerge the importance of e-mentoring in initial teacher education. Keywords: E-mentoring, Pre-service teacher education, Mentor, Practical training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 61 The Village Institutes in Turkey as a Teacher Training Model Ebru Kubat [email protected] The purpose of this study is to give information about the village institutes that were founded in 17 April 1940, law number: 3803, which has an important role for Turkish education history. In this research, related documents were examined and some interviews were made with people who had been teachers in that particular period. According to these interviews, the findings were interpreted. According to the population census in 1935, 12.355.376 people out of 16.158.018 people lived in rural areas. About 85 percent of the population was illiterate. Also, 77 percent of illiterate people lived in villages and towns. This information can be determined as establishment purpose of the village institutes. Between 1940 and 1954 in Turkey, the village institutes, located in 21 regions, where they had large arable villages land, were away from the city and were close to railway stations, to train people for the village schools as teachers. Hasan Ali Yücel, the Minister of Education of that period and İsmail Hakkı Tonguç the primary general manager pedagogue were very well aware of the importance of the village institutes. These institutions were adopted student centered, upstream, participatory, democratic, solidarity and art education. Those institutes founded by the “education in the job!” slogan, the principle of that education was not detached from life which was supported by modern education was applied literally. Children, learning by practicing and experiencing were allocated responsibility and authorization in institutes jobs and operations. Therefore, individuals who had problem solving ability, regardful, searcher, enactor and performer grew up. In addition to theoretical lessons, they took lessons such as applied agriculture lessons, carpentry, building, and fishery and also they played an instrument whatever they want and they grew up nested with art, reviving the worldwide known plays in open-air theatres. These institutes which were established for the aim that teacher training for villages to being a leader and revive the village, trained talented children, who came from villages, as fully equipped. After their education, children trained other people in their villages. From this point of view, the village institutes are a model for world in terms of sociologic and pedagogic. And also they are an important invention. Most of the population of today's Turkey is in the cities. That's why it is not possible to be rebuilt of these schools but after looking over, it can be benefited from this program by converting them into city institutions. Keywords: The village institutes, teacher training, applied training, in the job training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 62 Greek Pre-Service Elementary School Teacher’s Practicum Experiences Efstathios Xafakos [email protected] Anastasios Maratos Lambros Papadimas Ioanna Tsitsiriga Becoming a teacher is an ongoing process that is initiated, not completed, in the formal pre-service education program (Feiman-Nemser, 2001, In: Choy & Lim, 2013). Practicum is an integral and a very important part of pre-service teachers’ education (Haigh & Tuck, 1999), so each pedagogical department focuses on their proper and effective training and preparation. Barry & King (2002, p.35 as cited in Qazi, Rawat & Thomas, 2012) noted: “Teaching practice (practicum) provides the opportunity to apply the principles of teaching and learning that students have studied during course work”. Those pre-service training programs that link theoretical courses to field experiences are more effective than those which don’t do this (National Academy of Education, 2005, In: Ünver, 2014). Many empirical studies show that preservice teachers hold positive attitudes towards practicum and they face their practicum experiences as important and essential part for their professional life (Zeichner & Gore, 1990). Spending time in classroom is critical for pre-service teachers to become successful in-service teachers. It also provides the ability to build student teachers’ self-confidence, which is an important factor of teaching efficacy (Ober, 2013). The present study investigates the Greek elementary pre-service teachers’ practicum experiences (from the Department of Primary Education – University of Thessaly). Specifically, this quantitative study examines the preservice teacher’s perceptions of their support, motivations, self-efficacy, teaching efficacy and the practicum organization. Also this study examines if there is an existing causal relation between teaching efficacy and pre-service school teachers’ career decision. Self-administered questionnaire were completed by 140 pre-service Greek elementary pre-service school teachers. The questionnaire included a Likert type scale with 62 items measuring different aspects of preservice teachers’ experiences (self-efficacy, teaching efficacy, motivations, tutors’ support). The scale was mainly based on the instruments, used by Kaldi (2009) and Fernet et al (2008). Keywords: practicum, Greek pre-service teachers, experiences 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 63 Greek Elementary School Teachers’ Attitudes towards Educational Research in relation to Research Experience and Knowledge Efstathios Xafakos Jasmin-Olga Sarafidou [email protected] Educational research, as a practical science, is an important part of the educational process and its use by teachers can lead to school improvement (Bell et al., 2010). Recent research findings indicate the need to embed educational research within school practice, as this is useful both for teachers’ work and their professional development (Zeichner, 2003). To this end the cultivation of a research culture in schools (Ebbutt, 2002; Carpenter, 2007) is needed of the research engaged schools (Handscomb & Macbeath, 2003; Godfrey, 2014). This cannot be realized unless school teachers hold positive attitudes towards educational research and have the ability to use research in their teaching practice, in order to produce “local knowledge” (Stremmel, 2002). A number of studies show that school teachers are skeptical about the applicability of educational research, so the gap between research and practice still remains (Broekkamp & van – Hout Wolters, 2007; Vanderlinde & van Braak, 2010). The present study focuses on factors associated with Greek elementary school teachers’ attitudes towards educational research. Specifically, this quantitative study investigates whether teachers’ attitudes are related to their training and experience with research and school type. Self-administered questionnaire were completed by 190 primary school teachers. The questionnaire included a Likert type scale with 29 items measuring different aspects of teachers’ attitudes towards educational research. The scale was mainly based on the instrument, used by Williams & Coles (2003). Exploratory factor analysis of the responses suggested four attitudinal components (lack of knowledge and interest in educational research, usefulness of educational research, lack of reliability and applicability of educational research, difficulties in accessing educational research). Previous involvement in research activities was recorded by 40% of the teachers. Teachers take some interest in research and think it is rather useful but they also think it is of limited applicability. Teachers, who have a research experience and they have attended Methodology and Statistics courses, hold more positive attitudes towards educational research. Also, teachers who work in villages (small schools) take more interest in research. It is necessary that teachers have proper training in both reading and conducting research. Findings emphasize the need for both research methodology and statistics courses in teacher education, but also for in-service opportunities to engage with research. Keywords: Educational research, Greek elementary school teachers, attitudes, research experience and knowledge 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 64 Teachers' perceptions on their in-service education Efterpi Bilimpini [email protected] In-service teacher education in Greece has been in the center of attention, as it is believed to be strongly related to teacher quality and educational outcomes. Policy reforms have attempted to define it as part of teachers’ professionalism and link it to their career. Legal documentation professes it to be a rightful claim of every teacher in order to improve its practice and seek ameliorated career prospects. Nevertheless, research has shown that the way in-service education is designed and materialized has failed to emancipate the professionals and render the desired results. On the contrary, recent legal framework seems to be ignoring research findings and motivational theories that apply to the teaching profession and their commitment to the educational goals, focusing mainly on fully regulating the institution and linking in-service education to incentive policy theories as well as pay related performance skills, earmarking in that way in-service teacher education as an obligation conforming to extrinsic motivation, not inherent to teachers’ values and attitudes. Moreover, the teachers seem to be excluded from the discussion, as they do not participate in decision-making related to their in-service education. The implications of this are multiple affecting their professionalism and consequently the quality of their teaching. The aim of this paper is to present the findings of a national survey on teachers’ opinions and perceptions about the in-service education they receive as well as discern whether they believe that this education focuses on the promotion of their professional development. Another aspect researched was whether this education forms a part of their professional identity. An extensive questionnaire was sent to secondary school teachers practicing the profession in all geographical areas. The teachers were of all age groups and teach all subjects, they have followed different routes into the profession and had received different forms of in-service education prior to participating in the survey. The questions to be answered were mainly of a quantitative nature and had to do with various aspects of the in-service education they received from the moment they entered the profession and throughout their career. The findings are interesting and verify to a point what has been ascertained in previous researches that Greek teachers value their in-service education. They do not seem to believe that their in-service education promotes their professional identity. In that way, a gap between policy aspirations and actual results seems to be created in need of further research and discussion. Keywords: in-service education, teachers' professionalism, teachers' commitment, motivational theories 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 65 Trainee Teachers’ Collaborative and Reflective Practicum in Kindergarten Classrooms in Greece: A Case Study Approach Efthymia Gourgiotou [email protected] The practicum is considered as one of the most useful components of the teacher education program by teacher trainees and their educators. While in the past, learning has been considered to be an individual affair, it has become clear more recently that learning through collaboration may be better facilitated, and also may enhance their professional relationships. Our study was attempted to incorporate 70 teacher trainees, 25 cooperating kindergarten classroom teachers, one kindergarten mentor teacher and the university supervisor in an action research project. The main purpose of this project was to firstly identify principles which appeared to be important to the development of collaborative work, and secondly, to identify specific strategies employed from all the participants to support and enhance the development and learning of young children. The participants of the study were trained all together twice during 2011-2012 practicum on a adapted and modified model of “Collaborative Working”, focused to help teacher trainees on: a) the planning and teaching, b) the intervention on the learning environment of kindergarten, c) the formative evaluation of children, and d) the change of teaching practices, using curriculum differentiation to respond to children’s diversity. A qualitative survey research method was employed for the evaluation of project. Data collection involved three components: a) semi-structured interviews, b) semi-structured surveys using short answer and rating scales, and c) teacher trainees’ portfolio’s assessment. The most important principles of a collaborative work identified by the participants were to: do so voluntarily, to have common goals for children and the collaborative relationship, to share resources and responsibility for developing/delivering instruction, to share accountability for the outcomes, and to have a sense of parity – recognition of and respect for each partner’s, even though their skills and expertise may be very different. The study also showed that frequent meetings, critical friendships, team planning, instructional materials resource searching, teaching and modelling, reflective portfolio with shared observations, conversation, and team teaching have been identified as the most effective collaborative strategies. The findings from this project have strengthened our conviction that collaborative working on practicum produces worthwhile outcomes for all the participants, engaging all of them in a democratic, critical reflection and creative problem-solving procedure, helping them to plan and organize future collaborative teaching and learning projects whether in schools or in other organizations. Keywords: Teacher trainees’ practicum, collaborative work, kindergarten 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 66 Future Kindergarten Teachers’ Beliefs about Student Control Efthymia Penderi Galini Rekalidou [email protected] The educational literature provides consensus over two basic ideological systems that connect teachers’ personal views about student behavior control to the strategies and practices they apply in the institutional, pedagogical and societal context of the classroom. The custodial orientation is related to the traditional scope of education that sees the child as wrongdoer by nature, incapable of sound judgment and decisions and consequently delivers to the teacher the responsibility of students’ control. The humanistic orientation promotes a more constructivist stance of the pedagogical relationship with emphasis on children’s individuality and selfregulation and promotion of their responsibility and participation in classroom management processes. Following this line of thought, Willower and his associates (1967) developed a rating system, Pupils Control Ideology (PCI) that captures teachers’ philosophical orientations concerning discipline in the classroom in an authentic way (Rideout & Morton, 2007). It is argued that the scale is a valid and useful instrument that corresponds to the contemporary educational needs and the developments of modern theories of teaching and learning (Hoy, 2001). However, it applies only to primary and secondary grades. With reference to preschool education, there is a gap in the literature concerning the way teachers’ personal ideologies about classroom management and behavior control are linked to their practices. What is of great importance is the structure of future teachers’ ideas concerning discipline, as they seem to determine the practices they apply during their teaching carriers. The purpose of the study is to examine the psychometric properties of the Preschool Children Control Ideology (PCCI) scale which was tested with a sample of 400 future kindergarten students, taking into account their year of study. The assumption was that given the interaction with children in real educational contexts during their practicum in the last two years of their studies as well as the greater involvement with modern theories of child development, teaching and pedagogy could influence future teachers’ control ideologies. Analyses showed that the scale had high Cronbach α (.82) providing evidence for its internal consistency. Scoring revealed that student teachers had more or less balanced ideas over the continuum of custodial and humanistic control ideologies, with a mean of 3.2 in a five point scale, with a shift to a more custodial orientation. However, teachers in the last two years of their studies seemed to have more humanistic believes than those in the first two years. Discussion focuses on the improvement of future teachers’ preparation and training programs. Keywords: pupils' control ideology, future teachers, preschool, teacher training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 67 The Significance of Fantasy and Creativity to the Teaching Progress at First Years of Primary School Eftychia Nikou Georgia Nousiou [email protected] This survey explores the very significant role of fantasy and creativity for the teaching progress of the language lesson especially at first years of primary school. At the first part of the survey, there is an attempt to clarify what we mean with the terms "fantasy" and "creativity", which are their characteristics, and the role of these terms in children development and in teaching progress. The second part of the survey referred to a practical application of two different methods of teaching, one traditional- conventional method and one that involves creativity and develops fantasy. As a conclusion there is a comparison between the two methods and it turns out which one is more effective and most preferred for children. Keywords: Fantasy, creativity, language, teaching progress, children development, effective teaching progress 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 68 Elementary Teachers’ Attitudes and Perceptions Regarding the Teaching of Fractional Numbers Eleni Mavroeidi Charalambos Lemonidis [email protected] Fractional numbers consistently cause confusion and further difficulties among elementary students. Elementary students are not able to conceive the sense of a fractional number and they usually cannot execute calculations with fractions successfully. The following research aims to present this issue from the prospect of elementary teachers. The teachers’ perceptions about the difficulties they confront, while teaching fractions, are examined. The main aim of this study is to investigate the difficulties that both students and teachers face with fractions. Also it is under examination whether teachers are aware of those difficulties. Furthermore, teachers’ practices to teach fractional numbers are also searched. It is equally essential to understand their actions to eliminate any difficulties that students may face with fractions. Thus, teachers are requested to refer to their teaching practices to teach mathematics effectively and especially fractions. An additional aim is to express their opinions regarding their own content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Finally they are asked to define and suggest the type of additional training that would be more efficient and helpful. Data collection was conducted by personal interviews. Eight experienced elementary teachers were willing to participate. The interview consisted of four topics. Firstly teachers’ understanding about students’ knowledge and achievement on fractions were requested. Secondly the teachers were required to describe their teaching methods and practices, which were applied and were considered helpful by them. The third topic reviewed participants’ attitudes about the Greek mathematics curriculum and the Greek textbooks. At last but not least, questions were included regarding the conceptions about their self-efficacy and their acquired content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge necessary in order to teach fractions. The results showed that the sample teachers had experienced difficulties in teaching fractions. They were familiar with the common errors on fractions that were observed. The main reason for the under-achievement was that fractional numbers did not respond with students’ experiences from everyday life. Nevertheless in all the questioned teachers expressed that the students acquired experiences and non-typical knowledge about fractions. The most common teaching practices were the use of models, the teaching of mental calculations with fractions, and the investment of more teaching time on fractions. The most severely criticized textbook was the one used in fifth grade. Finally the sample teachers felt secure in regard with the teaching of fractions. However, they requested more training about the teaching approach of fractional numbers. Keywords: teachers, attitudes, perceptions, teaching fractions 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 69 Examination of Views of Prospective High School Mathematics Teachers on Proof Emine Özdemir Filiz Tuba Dikkartın Övez [email protected] When mathematics curriculum revised in 2005 and updated in 2013 is examined, it is observed that the concept of proof do not exist directly in elementary and secondary school curriculum, but it is tried to be introduced by means of reasoning and associating skills (MEB, 2013; NCTM, 2000). In these programs, reasoning is defined as a process of acquiring new information using tools (symbols, definitions, relations etc.) of mathematics and mental techniques (induction, deduction, comparison, generalization etc.). In high school mathematics curriculum on the other hand, students are expected to face informal situation and reach a formal mathematical structure through this informal situation. Thus, curriculum presents opportunities requiring high level mathematical skills such as discovering mathematical relation and associating it with other concepts. In the curriculum, for the first time, proving ability is emphasized in process skills (MEB, 2013). Therefore, knowing the views of teachers and prospective teachers, who will educate students, with regards to proving in order to achieve goals in the curriculum is considered very important. The present study used a mixed research design, a method which enables qualitative and quantitative approaches to be used in a collective or integrated manner (Creswell, 2008). In this study, case study among the qualitative research patterns was used. In the quantitative part of the study, descriptive research method was used. In the research, criterion sampling among purposeful sampling techniques was used. For this research, 53 prospective teachers selected randomly out of 130 prospective teachers who had successfully completed Introduction to Abstract Mathematics, Analysis and Algebra courses in “A” University Department of Secondary School Mathematics Teachers in 2014-2015 semesters. In the study, proof-writing skills of prospective teachers were determined using the scale developed by Dikkartın-Övez & Özdemir (2014).These skills are: a) making the proof using correct mathematical notations, language and definitions and the proof being clear, convincing and reasonable, b) putting forward a general argument that is not a proof or not completing the proof, c) giving an unrelated answer, d) making proof giving numerical values and verification of the result, e) leaving blank. According to these skills, prospective teachers were asked to explain, in writing, their views on the role of proof in teaching mathematics and their view with regards to proof. Qualitative data acquired were examined by two researchers using descriptive analysis method and 4 categories were achieved. These categories are named as quality of the education, self-efficacy, negative approach and importance. Results, discussion and recommendations with regards to findings of the research will be covered in the full text. Keywords: prospective high school teachers, proof, proof-writing skills, mathematics education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 70 The Teacher as a Leader in the Greek Schools Emmanouela Sotiropoulou Angeliki Lazaridou [email protected] Teacher leadership is a concept that is gaining increasing interest from both practitioners and researchers. Teacher leadership is conceptualized as a set of behaviors and practices that are undertaken collectively. It is centrally concerned with the relationships and connections among individuals within a school with the ultimate purpose to affect student learning. Regarding student achievement, Bandura (1993) posited that teachers’ beliefs in their instructional efficacy contributed significantly to their schools’ level of academic achievement” (p. 117). Leadership capacity is evident when a group of teacher leaders believe they can bring about change, desire to work for change, and have the knowledge and skills to do so (DiRanna & Loucks-Horsley, 2001). In the Greek educational system the principal is the head of the school and responsible for its smooth running. Yet, other administrative staff (vice-principals) and teachers assist the principal in the coordination of everyday school activities. Within this context, this study examines the concepts of teacher leadership and teachers’ efficacy. Its purpose is to show whether teachers’ feelings of self-efficacy are indicators of teachers’ aspiration to assume leadership roles, not formal leadership positions, but informal ones where leadership is exercised in the classroom. Data for the study were collected from a convenient sample of 118 teachers from two of the country’s prefectures using two instruments: One that measures teacher’s feelings of self-efficacy and one that measures their responses to questions on teacher leadership. Initial results indicate a strong correlation between teachers’ notions of self-efficacy and the prospect of assuming leadership positions. More analysis is underway and the final results will be presented at the conference. Keywords: Teacher Leadership, Teachers' Self-efficacy 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 71 An Academic View to life Erhan Dönmez Türkay Nuri Tok [email protected] A person’s point of view to life is very important for the person’s own life and naturally for the society. Because the life one is going to lead forms according to his understanding of life. The life that a person is going to lead will be built on the basic dynamic and the basic idea that he adopts about the life. We mustn’t forget that our viewpoint of perception is very important in order to form our surrounding. When the behaviors and attitudes of the employees in an organization are the same with the aims of the organization, the performance of the organization increases, otherwise it decreases. All organizations expect their employees to show high performance. However employees may have a negative attitude to the life due to various reasons. This situation is the same for the academicians at universities, as well. Lots of terms can be used to explain this negative attitude and ‘sinizm’ –whose root dates back to ancient Greece – is one of them. The aim of this research is to present findings related to the academicians’ (Education Faculty of Pamukkale University) point of view to life after identifying their sinizm levels by considering their gender, marital status, age, title, seniority and whether they have an administrative position or not. In this research, scanning model has been used. Scanning models are researching approaches that aim to describe a situation in the past or present in the form of its existence (Karasar, 1999). In this study, the scale developed by Wrightman (1992) to identify the general sinizm has been benefited from by using the results of Erdost et al.’s studies. This scale is composed of two parts: The first part is composed of totally seven questions to identify the demographic features of the attendants. The second part of the scale is to identify the general sinizm levels of attendants. For this aim, the ten-itemed scale developed by Wrightman was translated into Turkish and arranged according to the 5 itemed Likert Scale. The attendants were expected to express their agreement levels to the expressions in the scale as ‘‘I definitely disagree’’. ‘‘I disagree’’, ‘‘I partly agree’’, ‘‘I agree’’, ‘‘I definitely agree’’. It is a scale whose adjustment to Turkey was done by Tokgöz and Yılmaz (2008) and its reliability (Cronbach Alpha: 81) is proved to be quite high. The research was applied to 179 academicians working in Education Faculty of Pamukkale University during 2014-2015 education periods. The data relating to the research were collected by using general sinizm scale. After the attendants were informed about the aim and importance of the research, the applications were implemented at the academicians’ convenience- out of their working hours. Reaching the whole universe was targeted in the study. The research is in the process of collecting data .At the end of the study, the data will be analyzed by SPSS 16.0 program. The analysis of the study is still going on. Therefore, the finding, results and discussion sections haven’t been completed yet. Keywords: Sinizm, General Sinizm, Academician, Attitude, View to Life 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 72 Determination of the Relationship between Metacognitive Awareness and Locus of Control Levels of Prospective Teachers Ersin Şahin Abdullah Açar Şenay Ş.Koparan [email protected] The purpose of this study is to determine the relations between metacognitive awareness and locus of control levels of prospective teachers attending different departments of the Faculty of Education and to compare them according to some variables. Three hundred students attending the departments of Elementary Education, Foreign Languages, Turkish Language, Music Education and Physical Education and Sports at the Faculty of Education of Uludag University participated in this research. In this study, the answers to the following questions were sought: How is the distribution of metacognitive awareness levels and the locus of control levels of the prospective teachers? Do the metacognitive awareness levels and the locus of control levels of the prospective teachers vary according to the gender and grades and academic success and departments and monthly income levels? For the comparison made between groups, Kruskall Wallis was used for the variables containing more than two groups which does not show normal distribution and Mann-Whitney U test was used for the variables with two groups. According to research results, it was found that the metacognitive awareness levels of male and female prospective teachers were high, their locus of control levels were moderate and that the metacognitive awareness levels of prospective teachers differed (p<0.01) in favor of the Science and Mathematics departments. Keywords: Metacognitive Awareness, Internal Control, External Control, Academic Success 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 73 The Examination of Mobbing Practices Against the Class Teachers by the School Principals Ertuğ Can Hüseyin Çağlar [email protected] An academically common and frequently discussed concept “workplace bullying” has taken its place in literature in contexts such as psychological violence, psychological terror, psychological harassment, intimidation, bullying and emotional abuse. Communication and interaction are the most important tools in order to reach goals among interpersonal relationships. When this tool is active and is used effectively, the schools reach their goals. However, the increase of competition in schools, the struggle of career and the stress that is unbearable sometimes have led to the emergence of mobbing. In this study, the situation of mobbing victims is determined, and their problems are examined. Interviews with 25 teachers working at primary schools in Umraniye and Usküdar, Istanbul were carried out. In these interviews semi-structured forms were used. The data were examined using qualitative methods. In the research, it was concluded that managers mobbing to the teachers aimed at their dignity, communication styles, duties and social relations. The adverse effects of mobbing by the managers were found as unrest, depression, social aversion, avoidance, stress, divergence, lack of motivation, exhaustion, decrease in performance, decrease in school loyalty, and decrease in job satisfaction on teachers. As a result, teachers felt themselves invaluable. According to the results, the following may be suggested: Training programs for teachers and managers raising awareness about mobbing and demonstrating adverse effects of mobbing on human psychology and job efficacy may be provided in order to prevent mobbing against teachers. Counseling and support units aiming to help teachers might be placed in schools. School culture might be enriched in a way to extinguish psychological violence. Legal regulations might be established in order to punish and dissuade psychological abusers. Keywords: Mobbing, Job Satisfaction, Psychological Violence. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 74 Diversity Pedagogy in Tertiary Education: Towards a New Professional Learning Framework Eugenia Arvanitis [email protected] The knowledge economy creates new interconnected spaces of intercultural learning. Multiple networks generated by new media technologies form intermediate spaces of communication and contact building at the same time on the notion of intercultural capital (Pöllmann, 2013). In these contact zones people develop multifaceted forms of identities and personal expression as well as forms of professional or other mobility. Modern societies are built on the ground of multiple and diverse narratives, new intercultural learning and interrelations establishing the so-called civic pluralism (Kalantzis & Cope, 2013). The reconstruction of these sites as spaces of inclusiveness, dynamic convergence and collaborative/intercultural learning is forged by interculturality (Arvanitis, 2013, pp. 114-115). Here the role of the teacher education becomes critical to forge a new kind of intercultural understanding based on cosmopolitanism and civic pluralism. Educators, as knowledge professionals, are increasingly addressing the socio, cultural and economic challenges and their impact, while they are expected to act as agents of change. The ability of teachers to be aware of these challenges and their impact on social transformation, discrimination and inequality as well as their ability for multiple participation into new intercultural collectives and networks ensures a high degree of professional efficiency through effective intercultural learning and successful management of diversity. In this context, the basic intercultural education for prospective teachers in the Greek university departments of Education, requires, in my view, systematic reform to promote intercultural professional learning. This new pedagogical framework will allow prospective teachers a) to be aware of socio-cultural transformation and culturalization affecting the citizen of the world, b) to acquire skills to design intercultural curricula, diversify his/her pedagogy and mediate, and c) to act as a reflective practitioner of his/her own professional learning being exposed to diverse concepts, methods and tools. This framework requires persistent theoretical and pedagogical documentation in university classrooms utilizing participatory research methods where future knowledge professionals would take control of their own learning. This presentation will analyze the theoretical and practical dimensions of such a framework as it is applied in a Greek tertiary program of intercultural education. A case study is presented here as a reflective account on program’s effectiveness on future teachers intercultural and professional learning. Keywords: Diversity Pedagogy, intercultural professional learning, interculturality, teacher education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 75 The Role of Action Research in a Complex and Changing Educational Model Evaggelia Kalerante [email protected] The focal point of the present paper is the role and dynamics of action research designs about the micro-educational environment of schools. Education operates within a broader environment of insecure, uncertain and changing conditions relevant to educational values and objectives. General principles and standpoints about education correspond weakly to the formulated needs of individuals and societies, in which alteration, change and lacking definition are the rule and can be defined by the educational policy. Action research in educational microenvironments is conducive to studying special problems, methods and issues derived from or implemented in a certain time period. More specifically, educators are able to gather information and process data in order to point to solutions based on the scientific examination of situations. In this framework, the dynamics of the educational community, its area in the form of culture and system and the time in the form of coincidence are taken into account. Theoretically speaking, action research is part of schools self-assessment as the means by which school is reinforced and emancipated. Over the last decade, the knowledge society has been expanded and education has changed in terms of content and carriers. New instruments towards knowledge are presented by the Internet while definitions about useful knowledge in an expanded, globalized labor and values market are indirectly legalized. Traditional schools are invited to countersuggest packages of knowledge and modern practices to face situations in a competitive environment so that the offered educational work is efficient in economic and humanistic terms. The present paper focuses on action research tied to the democratic operation of education within a broader reflection on its effectiveness and in terms of individuals’ fulfillment when being engaged in the educational process. Scientific and humanistic dimensions are related to action research so that educators – researchers dialectically operate within a revised form of education through the interaction of all carriers involved in educational processes. To sum up, action research, being a practical and cooperative process, is tied to the educational community’s participation to an emancipatory micro-educational intervention. The educational community is enhanced by focusing on actions of the collectivity in which inventing practical solutions to problems is based on scientific study which is a prerequisite to reflect on education. Keywords: action research, educational environment, educational policy, democratic operation 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 76 Development and Validation of a New Measure to Assess Early Language and Literacy Faye Antoniou Angeliki Mouzaki Asimina Ralli [email protected] Sophia Papaioannou Vasiliki Diamanti Aim of the current study was to investigate the conditions and developmental prerequisites that facilitate literacy acquisition by examining thoroughly a wide array of precursor skills mainly related to oral language. Specifically, it attempts to describe the contribution of cognitive skills, early literacy (estimated by different measures of familiarity and involvement with written language) and oral language development for subsequent reading and writing achievement. In order to ensure psychometrically sound measurement of target skills, we standardized a new language assessment battery in a large (N>700) and representative sample of Greek students 4-7 years of age enrolling in public schools from four geographical regions (Attica, Thessaly, Macedonia and Crete) that varied demographically (urban, semi-urban and rural). In addition, for the individualized assessments we utilized mobile devices (tablet PC) to ensure children’s interest and joyful participation as well as reliable administration procedures across sites. The battery can also be administered by teachers and its results may offer them information on the teaching instruction that they should adopt. In this line, this study presents data regarding main psychometric properties (reliability and internal consistency) of the various subtests compiling the battery (receptive vocabulary, listening comprehension, phonological processing, word definition, naming, narrative skill, story retelling, morphological skill, pragmatic language, etc.). Associations among the different language measures will also be examined and their relations with cognitive (i.e. verbal memory, naming speed) and literacy skills (i.e., letter knowledge, invented spelling, orthographic recognition). We expect that most language skills can be assessed easily and efficiently within schools. The battery provides teachers with valuable and detailed information regarding areas of atypical development for intervention purposes and is also a cost-effective language assessment tool with high predictive validity. Keywords: The role of research in teacher education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 77 Professionalization of the Teaching Profession Feyyat Gökçe [email protected] Although the teaching profession is accepted as one of the sacred professions, it is difficult to say that it is accepted by society as one of the professions with a high status. This can be explained via the perception that everybody can teach one another something. For this reason, more research studies need to be made on professionalization of the teaching profession. This study was carried out with the aim of revealing teachers' perceptions about professionalization of the teaching profession. The study is a descriptive one employing the screening model. For the purpose of the study, 948 teachers working in Bursa were asked for their opinions. In the study, two separate scales including observations and expectations about the professionalization of teaching were used. The opinions included in the scales were graded in seven points. In order to determine the construct validity of the scales, factor analysis was employed. According to the results of the pilot study, it was observed that the scales met the validity and the reliability expectations. The data obtained from the teachers were analyzed via using the SPSS package program. According to the results of the study, it was observed that in professionalization parameters, the teachers' expectations varied between X=5.37 and X=6.41 and that their observations changed between X=3.45 and X= .64. It was determined that the total mean of the expectations about professionalization was X= 5.98 and that that of the observations was X=3.83. In general, the teachers thought that their salaries were low, they were not given sufficient field and professional knowledge, teaching was not more valuable than other professions, and they could not follow and evaluate their colleagues sufficiently. On the other hand, it was determined that the teachers held the same opinion to a great extent about such matters as the fact that teaching was among the professions with a low level of income, teaching was seen as a profession which could be done by everybody, teaching training models changed quite frequently, and crowded classes, buildings and teaching materials hindered the development of teachers. Based on these findings, it is possible to conclude that the participant teachers generally have had a high level of expectations about the professionalization of teaching, but that these expectations have not been met sufficiently. This can be evaluated as, perhaps, one of the biggest obstacles before the professionalization of the teaching profession. Based on these results, the following suggestions can be made: 1. Professional development programs can be developed in order to contribute to the professionalization of the teaching profession, 2. Legal regulations can be made in order to have teachers gather under a single professional organization, 3. In teacher training, the number of applied courses can be increased in a way to serve the professionalization of the teaching profession. Keywords: Profession, teaching profession, professionalization 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 78 Satisfaction of Student Teachers’ of English from Teacher Training Institutions Fidel Çakmak Feyyat Gökçe [email protected] Student satisfaction is an integral component of quality education and it is of crucial consideration in training student teachers effectively. The investigation of student teachers’ satisfaction helps to optimize teacher training programs and ensure the quality of teachers’ training education. This study aims to assess the student teachers’ satisfaction from a teacher training institution by employing a descriptive method of research. Two instruments comprising statements of observation and expectation of the student teachers were applied to 194 student teachers of English who were studying at the Department of English Language Education at Mersin University, Turkey. The data were analyzed via the SPSS program. Factor analysis for determining the construct validity of measures was investigated and validated. The findings of the study show that 52.3% of the student teachers stated that their expectations were not satisfied overall, while 44.6 % of the student teachers stated that their studies were very close to their expectations, and, 48% of student teachers stated that they would not choose the university in which they were currently registered. According to the results of the study, satisfaction of student teachers varied between X= 2.70 and X=4.21 and their expectations ranged between X= 6.48 and X= 6.79. Findings demonstrate that among the parameters, the student teachers’ expectations were overall fulfilled, as in the domains of the Academic and Students Relations (44.6%) , in Supervising and Counselling Service (40.6)%, in Academic and Social Environment (33.2%), in Managing Service (32.8%), in Student Office (38.3%), in Library Service (41.7%), in Health Service (32.5%), in Food Catering (36.8%), Labs and Areas for other activities (28.2%), in Hygiene and Care of Physical Places (29.9%), and in Transportation, Security and Financial Support, (36.9 %). These results indicate that student teachers were not satisfied with the university; yet, they were satisfied with the department in which they were registered. Another finding is that student teachers had high expectations of both the university and the department in which they were currently studying. It is implied that although student teachers are motivated to have a degree in English Language Education, the conditions they are in are not conducive to efficient learning. This suggests that in order to better train student teachers, the teacher training institutions need to provide quality education, educational services and environments to pre-service students. Keywords: Student satisfaction, student-teachers of English, teacher training institutions 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 79 Qualifications of Teachers Regarding School – Parent and Public Relations Figen Ereş [email protected] Studies show that school-parents relations have a significant impact on the academic success of school. Therefore, teachers play a crucial role in schools. Aim of this study is to determine the opinions of school principals about qualifications of primary school teachers regarding school, parent and society relations. The study was carried out with the descriptive research design in the model of survey. The population of the study consisted of school principals who worked in the public primary schools in Antalya province. 310 school principals who worked in Antalya were chosen by the random sampling method. For the study, a scale concerning qualification with regard to school, parent and public relations was used. The scale was developed by the Ministry of National Education in 2008. The reliability coefficient for the scale was 95. Classroom teachers are more qualified in recognizing the public sub-dimension according to opinions of school principals. Although the opinions of the school principals about the qualifications of both classroom and also the branch teachers for the Utilization of public sub-dimension is in the same range, the branch teachers, on the other hand, are more positive than classroom teachers. Transforming the school into a cultural center sub-dimension is in the same range; when the mean values determined by the school principals are examined, their opinions about the classroom teachers are more positive than their opinions for the branch teachers. Recognizing parent and objectivity in relations with family sub-dimension is in the same range; however classroom teachers are more positive than branch teachers according to opinions of school principal. School principals think that classroom teachers are more capable in the sub-dimension of providing parent participation and cooperation. School, family and community qualifications of branch teachers are “sometimes” level according to the findings. Qualifications of classroom teachers are more positive. It is understood that school has communication and interaction problems with parents and school public. It is advised that inservice training programs should be organized to improve the teachers’ qualifications in the school- public and school-parent communication and cooperation; adult education programs should be organized in relation to the effects of parent and public on education to provide awareness for the target group. Also, it is suggested that school principals organizes activities that enhance relations school-parents. Keywords: Teacher, school principal, parent and public relations 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 80 The Relationship between Life Satisfaction and Hope, Anxiety of Turkish Final Year Students of Faculties of Education Filiz Gültekin Ahu Aricioğlu [email protected] The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between levels of life satisfaction and hope, anxiety of final year students and compare these in terms of some variables. This correlational study was conducted on 438 Turkish final year students (92 males, 346 females) selected from volunteering students of the Faculty of Education of a Turkish state university. The data were gathered by administering Satisfaction With Life Scale, State of Hope Scale, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and analyzed with Spearman rank-order correlation coefficients, Kruskal Wallis H and Mann Whitney U. Results revealed that there was a positive correlation between life satisfaction and hope (r=,511, p<0,01); and negative correlation state anxiety (r=,431, p<0,01)-trait anxiety (r=-,406, p<0,01). Students’ life satisfaction, hope and state-trait anxiety scores did differ significantly according to department and trait anxiety scores differed significantly according to gender. Findings were discussed in comparison with those of previous studies and some suggestions were presented for the future research. Keywords: final year students, life satisfaction, hope, anxiety 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 81 Some Aspects of Professional Empowerment to Improve Job Satisfaction of Primary School Teachers Fotini Kefalidou Nikolaos Vassilakis Konstantinos Pitsalidis [email protected] Purpose of the present study is to investigate and record teachers’ perceptions of their professional empowerment, as well as to examine their beliefs about their job satisfaction. More specifically, we examine the impact of teachers’ demographic and professional characteristics (age, work experience, sex, school type, labor relations) on their perceptions of job satisfaction and we explore possible correlations between job satisfaction and professional empowerment. The research method adopted in this paper is the descriptive and correlative survey, with the use of a self-report questionnaire. For the sample selection, we used the method of convenience sampling and the participants were 131 in total. Teachers’ perceptions of their professional empowerment were measured by the School Participant Empowerment Scale (SPES), developed by Short and Rinehart (1992), while their job satisfaction was measured by the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS), developed by Spector (1985). The results indicate that teachers who do not have a permanent position in a school and they are obliged to change school environment every year, or they have to work in more than one school each year, they feel less empowered and satisfied. Specifically, while there is no differentiation as far as it concerns the sex, the marital status, the age, the studies or the previous experience, there are differentiations in labor relations and the number of schools a teacher works in a year. As far as it concerns the job satisfaction, the findings indicate that the teachers have an average overall job satisfaction. In addition the research has shown that there is a positive correlation between job satisfaction and empowerment. The present study provides useful data about the issue of Greek teachers’ job satisfaction as well as empowerment and the factors that influence teachers’ feelings about their overall job satisfaction and empowerment. It is remarkable that they represent a specific unit in the school environment, as they face different and harder labor conditions due to the nature of their job. Although they seem to agree with the levels of job satisfaction and empowerment of their colleagues, the survey indicates that they are influenced by labor relations and the fact that they have to work in more than one school every year. The improvement of labor relations and the decrease in the number of schools a teacher works in a year, would essentially contribute to teachers’ job satisfaction and empowerment. Keywords: Job Satisfaction, Empowerment, Educators of Primary School 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 82 Professional Development of ODL (Open Distance Learning) Faculty Fouzia Ghias [email protected] Teacher is a back bone of education system. This fact cannot be denied that the teacher occupies the most crucial position in the entire spectrum of educational activities. It is, therefore, very important that any reforms to be introduced for widening the base of education, improving the content and teaching learning process, and should focus on the effective status of teacher. The research was conducted to study the profession development of ODL (Open Distance Learning) faculty. The objectives of the study were to study the job constraints of AIOU (Allama Iqbal Open University) faculty members, to study its effects on their professional development, to suggest strategies to improve the attitudes of academicians towards the professional development. The study was delimited to faculty members of AIOU. Total population was 137 out of which 70% was randomly selected as sample and it was 90 (50 male and 40 female). A questionnaire with 5 point Likert scale was developed with the consultancy of education experts. The data was collected and analyzed through chi-square (x2) and percentage method. On the basis of data analysis conclusion and recommendations were made. The conclusion of the study revealed that job constraints were highly affecting the academic work; therefore, overall academicians should be given facilities in terms of time, finance and administrative report. It was also concluded that both male and female had the equal opportunities for career progress, there was not gender discrimination for professional activities. It was recommended that academician should be rewarded with incentives, promotions, medals for improvement of academic and professional qualification constant appraisal programs and appreciations should be given to motivate the employees. Keywords: ODL, Professional development 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 83 For Diversity against Adversity: Second Language Teachers Develop Intercultural and Research Skills during an Intensive Course with Immigrants in Greece George Androulakis [email protected] Marialena Malliarou Irene Ntasiou Vicky Panagou Iro-Maria Pantelouka Sofia Tsioli In an environment of economic and social crisis, migration flows to Greece and other Southern European countries are often treated with skepticism or even hostility. In addition, specific programs aimed at linguistic and social integration of immigrants have to overcome obstacles associated with the bureaucracy of public or governmental institutions and with the lack of flexibility on the part of funding organizations. Thus, teachers of a Second Language and Culture are invited to respond to multiple challenges that test their scientific and pedagogical competences and affordances. This paper will present data from the participation of teachers in an intensive project (lasting for five weeks in spring 2015) of teaching Greek Language and Culture to immigrants in seven Greek cities. For the project MATHEME, funded by the European Integration Fund, teachers had to develop a series of cross-language and intercultural skills in order to manage teaching to a multicultural audience, diverse in terms of languages in practice, and in social characteristics: Mothers, people with disabilities, unemployed and illiterate immigrants. Furthermore, teachers were asked to develop research skills to detect and analyze the linguistic, communicative, social and integrative needs of the target-public, and to adapt their teaching practices and techniques to these needs. The data discussed in this paper were collected in the written reports prepared and submitted by the teachers after the end of the course. The reports were accompanied by examples of learning material, activities and tasks chosen and/or designed by the teachers, and with motivated teaching decisions. Processing and analysis of such reports show the importance of acquiring multilingual and multicultural competence and awareness by teachers. It is also obvious that processes such as negotiation and reflection play a crucial part, along with personal and social skills such as understanding, empathy and commitment. The techniques which are proving effective in this environment are often collaborative and include organized feedback, brainstorming and monitoring. We believe that the results and conclusions of our analysis will shed light on interesting aspects of in-service training of teachers in multilingual and multicultural contexts. Keywords: Immigration, Second Language Teaching and Learning, Multilingualism, Research Skills, Intercultural Competence. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 84 A Case of Training Second Language Teachers Online: Affordances, Constraints, Advantages and Achievements George Androulakis [email protected] Roula Kitsiou Eleni Paparoidami Argyro-Maria Skourmalla Emmanouela Sotiropoulou This paper focuses on a fast track online teacher training seminar addressed to teachers who were asked to teach in a Greek Language and Culture program for immigrants in the spring of 2015. The MATHEME project, funded by the European Integration Fund, aimed, inter alia, to help teachers develop a series of cross-language and intercultural skills in order to teach to a multicultural audience, diverse in terms of languages in practice, and in social characteristics; mothers, people with disabilities, unemployed and illiterate immigrants. Furthermore, teachers were asked to develop research skills to detect and analyze the linguistic, communicative, social and integrative needs of the target-public, and to adapt their teaching practices and techniques to these needs. Teachers who took part in the project were highly qualified, having at least a postgraduate degree in language teaching, and quite some time of experience in teaching Greek as a Second Language. A two-day seminar was held online in order to inform the teaching staff regarding the design, organization and implementation of the project, the expected outcomes and the specific features of the project. Moreover, an important objective of the online seminar was to train the teachers on issues of theoretical principles, methodological choices and teaching practices chosen during the project’s proposal. The seminar used two online tools, one for communication purposes and an e-class for the teaching process. Fifty teachers from all over Greece attended the online seminar; very few of them had any kind of previous experience in online training whatsoever. The data to be presented and discussed in this paper were collected with the methods of participatory ethnographic observation, semiotic analysis of the recordings of sessions of a total of 8 hours, and discourse analysis of the chats created for participation in the sessions or for communication between the participants. The results of our analysis support the view that effective online teacher training presuppose consistent and meaningful participation in digital learning communities of practice, and a thorough understanding of the role citizenship, civility, digital literacy and openness serve in successful online instruction. Moreover, appropriate participation in the online sessions was usually linked with communication and creation skills. Keywords: ESL Teacher Training, Online Teacher Training, E-Class, Chats. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 85 The Contemporary Landscape of Greek Teachers’ Professional Development. Issues of Policies, Methodology, Practices and Perspective George Bagakis [email protected] A very old claim of the Greek teachers, the INSET, the last three years is located in a crucial bending. There is a vacuum and a freezing on the level of the central educational policy. Moreover, this situation was marked by negative versions of obligatory INSET related to the evaluation that the executives of education were going to realize last year. In this presentation, policies, methodology and practices of the Greek INSET will be discussed. Concerning the level of educational policies, the deficit of sufficient elaborations towards a national INSET strategy is underlined. Moreover, there are difficulties concerning the level of the record of INSET needs, planning, monitoring, and evaluation of the INSET programs. In relation to INSET methodology, new forms of INSET are underlined as the school-based forms of professional development, the long distance INSET, the INSET networks etc. Moreover it is mentioned that there are effective methods which have not been exploited so far (like mentoring and coaching) as well as other interesting alternative forms of INSET, which have very often been degenerated (see the case of school self-evaluation). As far as it concerns the level of practices, there is a valuable richness of innovative practices which have to be detected, pushed forward, supported and modelled for their best development and exploitation. Finally, the bidirectional communication and the golden section among the top-town and bottom up modes of professional development seem to be a significant request. Keywords: Professional development, INSET, policy, methodology 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 86 Investigating EFL Teachers’ Concerns and Beliefs During Teaching Practice and in Their First Year of Teaching George Giotis [email protected] This article purports to examine pre-service and beginning English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ concerns and beliefs. More specifically, it attempts to investigate the EFL student and beginning teachers’ beliefs and concerns focusing on a period spanning from their last year of studies in the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece up to their completion of their first year as EFL teachers ( a sixteen month research period). The main research questions are a) if there is a developmental pattern or change during the research period in the EFL teachers’ concerns, b) if the participants’ teaching practices reflect their beliefs and c) if there is an association between the participants’ target language competence and their beliefs. Quantitative and qualitative measures were employed to gather data which provided the answers to the research questions posed. In terms of quantitative data, a questionnaire was developed in order to collect data about the participants’ concerns and beliefs which was administered at four times during the sixteen month research period. A total of 212 questionnaires were collected and were statistically analyzed by the use of SPSS v.20 statistical software. In terms of qualitative data, diaries, observation forms and interviews were employed and delivered a huge amount of data (404.389 words) which were submitted to analysis by the use of NVivo software. Data analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data showed that the participants were mainly concerned about their target language competence, their ability to integrate ICT effectively in their teaching and about the impact of their teaching on their students’ learning. Data analysis revealed that most of their beliefs remained stable during the research period and it can be argued that the participants’ beliefs promote the communicative language teaching approach to a great degree. Their teaching practices are consistent with their beliefs as long as error correction and teaching grammar are referred to. Considering pair/group work, data revealed an inconsistency between the reported beliefs and the relevant teaching practices, which was attributed to a number of tensions between their beliefs and the teaching reality they had to face. Finally, statistical tests indicated that the strongest supporters of the communicative language teaching approach were the participants with the highest target language competence. Keywords: Teacher education, teaching practice, teachers' concerns and beliefs, EFL teachers' target language competence 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 87 How Do Teachers, Students and Parents Perceive the “Good Teacher” in Terms of His/Her Emotional Intelligence Skills? Georgia Diamantopoulou Eirini Gouridou Maria Platsidou [email protected] In their effort to make teachers’ education more effective, researchers and educators have systematically tried to identify the characteristics of the “good teacher”. Given the social and emotional nature of teaching and the fact that teachers’ Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been associated with many positive outcomes for all the interested parties in the educational context, a body of work related to the component qualities of “the good teacher” focuses on teachers’ social and emotional skills. In line with these research efforts, in the present study we investigated the characteristics of the “good teacher” in terms of his/her Emotional Intelligence Skills (EIS). Moreover, considering that teachers, students and parents are vital contributors of the educational process and outcomes, we explored their views on the qualities of the “good teacher”. Participants (82 students, 66 parents and 136 teachers) were tested with a 20-item inventory designed for the needs of this study. The inventory consisted of 9 Self-focused (e.g. selfconfidence) and 11 Others-focused EIS (e.g. conflict-management) derived from the theory of Goleman (2000) for EI. A brief description of each EIS was provided (e.g. self-control: management of impulsive and stressful feelings even in pressing situations) and participants were asked to answer how important they consider each skill for a “good teacher using a 5-point Likert scale. Among the three groups of participants both differences and similarities were traced concerning the skills which they consider as the most important for a “good teacher”. Overall, the points of convergence among participants’ views on social and emotional skills of the “good teacher” seem to reflect a shared, culture-driven view of “the good teacher” prototype while the points of divergence seem to stem from teachers’, students’ and parents’ distinct roles in the educational context. Implications of the findings for teachers’ education and professional development will be discussed. Keywords: teachers, social-emotional skills, emotional intelligence 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 88 The Importance of Teachers’ Mastery Goal Orientation and Autonomous Motivations for Their Professional Development and Educational Innovation Georgios Gorozidis Athanasios G. Papaioannou [email protected] Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that the quality of teacher motivation is essential for in-service training success and the implementation process of innovative teaching practices. Motivational theories of Self-determination and Achievement goals may provide a useful framework to optimally design professional training aimed at promoting teacher learning and innovative curricula. This approach underlines the importance of teacher motivation quality for the educational procedure. Moreover it focuses on the formation of the appropriate educational environment for the cultivation of teachers’ dispositional mastery goal orientation (i.e., the pursuit of personal improvement) and the enhancement of their autonomous motivations (i.e., intrinsic & identified regulations) in work. According to theory and findings of our studies which are presented here (e.g., Gorozidis & Papaioannou 2011, Teachers’ self-efficacy, achievement goals, attitudes and intentions to implement the new Greek physical education curriculum, European Physical Education Review, 17, 231-253; Gorozidis & Papaioannou 2014, Teachers' motivation to participate in training and to implement innovations, Teaching and Teacher Education, 39, 1-11; Papaioannou & Christodoulidis, 2007, A measure of teachers’ achievement goals, Educational Psychology, 27, 349-361), this can be achieved if the school/work climate encourages teacher personal development and fulfills their innate psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. This educational environment must (a) put emphasis on personal improvement, effort, and persistence with revised teaching practices, (b) deliver opportunities for experimentation and sustained collaboration with colleagues (e.g., teacher networks), officials and experts (e.g., guidance, support, non-threatening feedback), (c) provide teachers the choice to actively shape reforms, and to customize their training programs. The practices outlined here are consistent with scholars’ suggestions for effective teacher professional development, but they are opposite to most current teacher assessment practices and the top-down format of one-shot teacher training. Policy makers usually promote educational innovations in a controlling manner, by providing external incentives and coercion as the only motivators to get teachers engaged in professional retraining and the implementation of new practices. In addition, existing accountability systems induce social comparison between teachers promoting their performance goal orientations. However, these conditions have the characteristics that produce superficial and temporary educational outcomes through teacher controlled motivation, which has no positive impact on teachers’ motivation to get involved with training and innovative pedagogies while decreasing teachers’ quality of motivation. On the other hand, underestimation of postgraduate qualifications and inservice education for teachers’ career in education might undermine teachers’ mastery goal adoption and implementation of innovations in education. Keywords: Achievement goals theory, Self-determination theory, in-service teacher training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 89 A Teaching Approach Regarding Presentation of Amplifiers to Future Electronic Engineering Educators Gerasimos Pagiatakis Nikolaos F. Voudoukis [email protected] Though courses on electronic engineering usually aim at students and future engineers developing the necessary theoretical and technical background to face the challenges of an ever changing profession, for future educators it is equally important the various electronic engineering topics to be presented in a generalized, unified and well-structured manner that will enable students to create the appropriate background for their future teaching assignments. A difficult topic in that respect is electronic amplifiers which lie at the core of most analog electronics courses and, indeed, most electronic engineering syllabi. Ιt has been observed that the diversity in both, the amplifier types and the modeling and calculation processes makes it difficult for students to develop a general and unified view of the subject. More specifically, it has been noticed that student have difficulties in comprehending the common background of the various amplifier types which, in turn, could be an obstacle in their future efforts to convert their knowledge to a viable and efficient teaching practice. Taking the above observation into account, the course in Electronics offered at the Electronic Engineering Education major of the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE, Athens, Greece) has been partly re-oriented in that, apart from studying basic aspects of specific amplifiers (such as transistor or operational amplifiers), it gives emphasis to the presentation of amplifiers in a general and unified manner. The course follows an induction-production approach. The students are first introduced to basic amplifier circuits (e.g. transistor-based or operational amplifiers) before they encounter a more general presentation of the various amplifier types including their modeling by means of common Thevenin/Norton equivalent circuits and low-pass and high-pass filters. The next step is the application of the general theory to specific amplifier circuits, including the ones presented during the starting lectures of the course. Depending on the time available and the overall performance of the class, the study may conclude with more advanced topics such as the frequency response of amplifiers, active filters etc. An additional advantage of this approach is its applicability to audiences with diverse mathematical and/or technical background. In an attempt to evaluate the effect of the applied approach (and, at the same time, interconnect the technological and the pedagogical aspect of the presented material) the students are asked to describe the content of a thirty (30)-hour module on amplifiers, indicating the exact topics to be examined in relation with the required teaching time and literature (specific chapters from up to four (4) books available in the School’s library). The students are also asked to fill in a brief questionnaire regarding the above assignment. Due to the large size of the class and the fact that the described approach was applied for the first time, it was decided that, at least at this stage, it should be combined with rather traditional modes of teaching. However, the plan is the amplifier module to be delivered through more modern teaching practices, such as project-oriented learning or “think-pair-share” activities. A simple idea (to encourage students’ active participation) could be the students to start outlining the amplifier module just after introductory classes and also propose simple lab exercises that could support the module’s lectures. Keywords: engineering education, teacher education, electronics teaching 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 90 The Value of the Group in Effective Educational Process Gerasimos Rentifis [email protected] The era we live in is characterized by strong liquidity, ongoing changes and upheavals, insecurity and disillusionment. The following conditions are affecting the human character. Modern man is distinguished by intense selfish disposition, with strong introversion, compelling him to more and more entrenched in his personal entourage. On the other hand, it is difficult to articulate authentic personal reason. If education is able to operate intervention in the course of society, reversing undesirable behavior, then we need teaching models that enhance the mood for contact and communication, cooperativeness and solidarity, autonomy and action. Such a model is collaborative, based on the dynamics of teamwork and harmonious cooperation instructor and trainees, while respecting student relationships and maximize the learning potential of the student. In this paper we will focus attention on how the teaching in working groups can be an important teaching proposal and contribute to the fuller elaboration of the curriculum. Teamwork as a teaching method, has experienced recent special development because of the growing influence that the constructive and sociocultural approaches to teaching and learning. The pedagogical literature suggests the composition of groups consisting of three members or four members as well as the network of relationships formed between three or four people is more complex and accelerates deeper treatment of each subject. In this context we will concentrate our attention on techniques by which the teacher can use to improve team cohesion. In particular we will look with what methods can ensure communication between team members and there is a positive interdependence between the members through the fair sharing of the work and the commitment of individual and collective responsibility. Finally, we highlight how important the trainer to treat each group as unique, with ongoing process, understand the contexts in which it operates and exploits emerging every time roles for the benefit of the team, aware of his personal approach what it entails. Looking forward, therefore, to form a group of school work as the most modern, creative and effective form of school work, attempting to investigate the group dynamics. Keywords: Educational group, techniques, dynamic. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 91 The Effect of Risk Factors Compensation Studies on Disadvantaged Children’s Bully Behaviors Gönül Onur Sezer Ömür Sadioğlu [email protected] The term “disadvantaged children” is used to refer to those who are economically, educationally, linguistically, or socially disadvantaged. Definitely this phrase is used to define as children who lack the basic necessities of life, who have been denied the basic and universal rights of children, the opportunity to grow normally at his/her own natural rate, who are subject to detrimental environmental stresses of any kind and handicapped or disabled because of certain conditions of exogenous origin and lastly, who are at risk of future psycho-educational problems. The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of compensation program which was held as a University–Sector Cooperation Project “Be My Hope Project” between Uludag University, Faculty of Education and Bursa Provincial Security Directorate’s Child Branch on disadvantaged children’s bullying behaviors. Prevention studies and programs aim to prevent the occurrence of situations that can place the student at risk in the future. Compensation studies require a sophisticated and comprehensive study. Compensation studies provide children who encounter risk factor and are affected negatively tend to have a deviant behavior, exhibit social disharmony, and in order to help him overcome this disharmony social organization and efforts are needed. Aim of the Be My Hope Project is to help disadvantaged children, who are unable to benefit from the same opportunities with their peers due to unfavorable conditions of living environment, to participate in academic and social activities with teacher candidates at the Faculty of Education, to turn teacher candidates into role models and to reintroduce these students to society as self-respecting, considerate, happy, active and productive individuals. Within the scope of this Project study times, social activities and sport activities are held for their academic developments by teacher candidates and disadvantaged children in recreational and sports facilities provided by the Osmangazi Youth Centre. In line with this objective Colorado School Climate Survey, which was developed by Garrity et al., (2000) was used. The questionnaire was designed to measure several aspects of bullying. Several subscales were used in the questionnaire. The subjects of this study are 40 disadvantaged children (35 boys and 5 girls) who were selected after organizing interviews with counselors and directors of four schools decided by Bursa Provincial Security Directorate’s Child Branch. The analysis of this study is still underway. Keywords: Disadvantaged children, bully behavior, compensation study, risk factor 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 92 According to Holland’s Theory of Careers; the Personality Profiles of Turkish Teacher Candidates Guliz Sahin Mehmet Ali Arıcı Neslihan Yucelsen [email protected] Human who is a social creature tends to live together with other people. Raising qualified individuals in society can take place with education provided in high quality educational institutions. An individual’s professional developments have a great importance in providing personality and social adaptation. Some factors such as teacher’s candidates’ suitability, their traits, why they choose their professions play a major role in their professions’ achievement. The purpose of this work is to search the relationship between Turkish teacher candidates’ satisfaction with their professions and their personality. For this purposes, Holland’s theory of careers theoretically underlines this work. According to Holland’s theory, there are six personality types. These are Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. There are also six types of work environments in the same names. This study is planned to carry out with 340 Turkish teacher candidates studying in three universities as teaching departments which are situated in Turkey’s east and west and are required answers to following questions: How is the personality profile of students studying in Turkish teaching department? Is there a relationship between Turkish teacher candidates’ satisfaction with their professions and their personality? If so, which personality type is closely related to it? How is the relationship among the personality types of Turkish teacher candidates who are studying in the western and eastern regions of Turkey? This research planned as a descriptive research, validity and reliability studies were made as data collection tools by Perkmen and Şahin. The codes career test consisting of 30 items in 5 point Likert scale is applied to the teacher candidates and it is analyzed using statistical methods by researchers. It is expected to use these results of relationship between acquisition of the profession and personality relations in the relevant works while teacher training programs are preparing. Keywords: career choice, career satisfaction, Holland’s theory, Turkish teacher candidate, teacher training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 93 Evaluation of Professional Ethics Principles by Pre-Service Teachers Gülsün Şahan [email protected] Teaching as a profession is a respected and prominent profession all over the world. Teachers also shape such ethical perceptions of their students as good, bad, right and wrong. With their ethical behaviors, teachers serve as a role-model to their students. The members of this profession who shape the future generations do not have a chance to make any mistakes. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the opinions of pre-service teachers on the ethical principles of teaching as a profession. Qualitative research method was used in the study and students’ opinions were collected using semi-structured interview forms. Using convenience sampling, a purposive sampling method, 24 senior students at Bartın University Faculty of Education were interviewed. Focus group meetings were made with 6 students from each primary education, social studies, science teaching and religious culture and ethics teaching departments. Keywords: Ethics, teaching, professional ethics, pre-service teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 94 According to Ibn Haldun the Needs of Individual for Education and Teacher Hacer Âşık Ev [email protected] This research attempts to elicit the opinions of Ibn Khaldun about the individual needs for education-teacher and the teaching profession. In this research, literature review, document analysis and content analysis have been used. Literature review has been done to investigate the list of published resources on searching topic (Karasar, 1999: 189). Document analysis includes analysis of written materials that include information about fact or facts that are going to be examined (Yıldırım, 2011: 187). Karasar calls “document scanning” the method that he expresses as data collecting technique and he states that this technique is defined as investigating systematically as data source of current records or documents by Best (Karasar, 1999: 183). In qualitative research, document analysis can be a data collecting method alone, but it can also be used together with other data collecting methods (Yıldırım, 2011: 187). In content analysis, datum summarized and interpreted by descriptive analysis are subject to a deeper process and in this way datum are tried to be defined, possible truths hidden in datum are tried to be discovered (Yıldırım, 2011: 227). Some aspects in documents, philosophies, language, expression, etc. can be understood with content analysis according to deepness and some criterions (Karasar, 1999: 184). In research firstly with literature review documents about the topic were reached and then they were analyzed with document analysis and content analysis. This presentation is limited to Ibn Khaldun’s only opinions about teaching profession and individual need for education and teacher, not his all opinions about education. Ibn Khaldun (1332-1406) who was born in 1332 in Tunisia, lived in the second half of XIV century that coincided with the last period of the Middle Ages in which The Renaissance started to spread in Europe and beginning of XV century (Sâtî el-Husrî, 2001: 59). Ibn Khaldun is considered and recognized not only as the pioneer of sociology that he called as “İlm-i Tabiat-i Umrâni”, but also as a history philosopher. According to Ibn Khaldun, human consisting of flesh and soul differing from other living creatures with mind (ability to think) and predominates. He defines the mind as an ability that separates human from animals and makes him/her superior, a power given to human beings to make a living and a tool that reaches science and arts (Ibn Khaldun, no date:42, 490, 517). However, human’s power of mind/consciousness or thought cannot be developed automatically; there is a need for education to develop that power. According to Ibn Khaldun, as food and nutrition develop the body, education develops and matures human soul and mind. People, who have tendency both goodness and badness, can separate good from bad, ugly and disordered thanks to education and so they become different from wild animals (Ibn Khaldun, trans. Uludağ, 2004). If people are informed and trained about what ugly and disordered things are, how to distinguish them from good things and if people repeat good ones, they can produce good and nice things by becoming different from animals at the end of this training (Âşık Ev, 2012). Khaldun emphasizes on importance of education at early ages. For him, education, which is given at early ages, is more effective and builds a tough basis for the next (Ibn Khaldun, trans. Ugan, 1989). Ibn Khaldun indicates that people need religion’s education especially in development of social and ethical motives. According to Ibn Khaldun, teacher is an obligation as education is for people. He lines 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 95 up the reasons that people need teacher like this: The first reason is people’s incentive of curiosity. Second is that all skills are about body and so they need education of teacher. Ability becomes skill as using it; unused, undeveloped abilities weakened and rusted. When abilities become skills, a teacher’s education is needed. Third reason is that human being is social being. A teacher’s help and guidance are necessaries for a social being, human, to both to continue life and to learn information and skill. Another reason is a need for a person to whom people can ask and learn what they do not know. Ibn Khaldun, taking courses from a great number of teachers is one of the factors that determine student success in education. Keywords: Ibn Khaldun, education, teacher, teaching profession. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 96 The Comparison of Preschool Teachers’ and Parents’ Views about Determined Character Traits of Children Hakan Sariçam Ayşe Duran [email protected] The year of preschool is an important period in terms of acquiring of basic character traits. During these years, the foundation of character is development with the help of education. It is a fact that the character education starts in the family and it continues with preschool education in a formal way. For this reason, the parallel education of family and schools is significant for the development of children’s character. In this direction, the examination of view of preschool teachers and parents make a major contribution to the embodiment of character education programs. The aim of this study is the comparison of preschool teachers’ and parents’ views about the determined character traits of children. This study was done with the comparison method of survey model and the participation of the research is 78 teachers and 79 parents during the education year of 2013-2014. The data of study was collected by a questionnaire form developed by the researchers and it supports to take of teacher’ and parent’ views about the children’ character traits, listed as ‘ courage, honesty, respectful to other people, kindness, sharer, collaboration, respectful to environment, being patient, responsibility, determined, peaceful and warm- heartedness’. The analysis of this study was done with SPSS 17.0 program. According to the results, teachers and parents have the same view about ‘honesty, respectful to others, kindness, respectful to environment, responsibility, peaceful and warm-heartedness’ and they show difference in the view of ‘courage, collaboration, being patient, determined and sharer’. The results also show that parents take the primarily responsibility of development of their children’s character in themselves. In addition, teachers have different opinions about the role of parents in the development of character traits of children. Keywords: Character, Character Education, Preschool Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 97 The Predictor Role of Staffs’ Children Liking and Multicultural Personality on Children’s Tendency to Tolerance Levels in Children’s Homes Hakan Sariçam Merve Bulut Fatmagül Soylu Büşra Kartal Berra Baypinar [email protected] Children’s homes, claiming responsibility of children remaining separate from their families mostly due to divorce or for any other reason in these days of ever increasing divorce rates, are the units established in order to give, especially, the love expected from a warm family environment and social-emotional skills, ensure the healthy development in every aspect, meet economic needs, educate tolerant individuals that the society needs instead of the ones who have aggressive attitudes and behaviors. To achieve the target of these objectives; children should be in environments where those with all kinds of differences are accepted and they feel that they are loved. For this reason, level of serving for the purpose of children’s homes has become an object of curiosity. In this regard, the aim of the research is to examine the relationship between attitudes of the staff of children’s homes of loving children and accepting them with their differences and children’s tolerance tendencies. The method of the study is the relational screening method of quantitative research methods and the study group consists of 54 staff and 40 children in children’s homes. In this study, “Barnett Liking of Children Scale”‚ “Multicultural Personality Questionnaire” and “Tendency to Tolerance Teacher Form” will be applied and the data obtained will be analyzed via Pearson Moments Correlation Analysis and Multiple Regression Analysis. As a result, multicultural personality of staff that enables them to love children and be sensitive to their differences is expected to have a positive impact over the tendencies for tolerance. The findings of the study will be discussed in the light of the relevant literature. In this research about such important values as tolerance, respect to differences and loving children, preferences of Children’s Homes as study group especially increase the originality of this study. In this context, a contribution to the related field, a source for researchers and guide for future studies are expected from the study. Keywords: Tendency to love children, multiple personality, respect to differences, tendency to tolerate children 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 98 Examination the Teachers’ Professional Development Process in the Field of Education of the Hearing Impaired: A Coaching Model Hasan Gürgür [email protected] The focal point of the education based on auditory-oral approach for the hearing-impaired students is to develop their language and communication skills because of the hearing loss they have. It is noted that their language and communication skills can be effectively developed in one-to-one conversations; however, the continuing competence development of the teacher also plays an important role. The author of this proposal participated in the Anadolu University, Division of Education for Hearing-Impaired Students in the 2008-2009 academic year as a new teacher educator. However, the relevant literature emphasizes that new teacher educators need support from experienced colleagues for their professional development in areas such as communication with student teachers, the monitoring of student teacher activities, the collection of information during monitoring, and the provision of feedback. The literature also emphasizes that new teacher educators must pass through a development and training processes as well. One of these processes can be called as coach model. Based on these thoughts, a development and training process in which an experienced TE would do coaching to the author was planned. This study aimed to examine the competence development process of a teacher in the field of the hearing impaired. The study was designed as an action research. A teacher (the presenter) and an experienced teacher educator (coach) participated in the study. The study was conducted in Anadolu University, Research and Education Center for Hearing Impaired Children (ICEM) in Eskisehir, Turkey. The data collection techniques included reflective researcher diary, documents, interviews, teacher competencies evaluation forms, audio and video tape recordings. Data will be analyzed by using content and video type analysis. The findings are expected to show the importance and one of the ways of the teacher competence development process for skillful teachers. At the end in the light of the research findings, recommendations for applications and research topics will be made. Keywords: Teacher professional development, coaching model, development of teacher competencies, special education. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 99 A Review of Studies on the Role of GIS on K-12 Geography Education Hilmi Demirkaya [email protected] There have been a lot of studies investigating geography information system (GIS) issues in relation to K-12 geography education, but there isn't any review study on the role of GIS on K-12 geography education. This presentation covers a timely review on what is known from available researches, a description of the major methodological relevance emphasized by such researches and make use of the review to present some notions for more research in this topic. GIS methods provide new approaches for assessing the teaching geography in K-12. Further work will develop in-service geography teachers' experiences with GIS. Keywords: K-12 geography education, geographical information system, curriculum reforms, GIS in schools, students' engage with GIS 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 100 Teaching English through Stories: Sample Story with Teaching Strategies Hülya Küçükoğlu [email protected] With the rise of communicative methodologies, the use of authentic materials in language classrooms gained importance. As the source of authentic materials which fosters communicative competence, all kind of literary texts have become an indispensable tool for teachers in all learning settings. Content and language are the two fundamental factors of learning that every teacher seeks for to reach their learners from a cognitively challenging perspective. This current study deals with one of the most practical literary text that can be used in all teaching settings, stories. Stories can be used in language classrooms as a teaching tool as learners of all ages learn better with stories. Stories facilitate not only language and content but also culture and cognition. Apart from being enjoyful materials to be used in language classrooms, stories are important for many pedagogic reasons. The current study has two major aims: The first aim is to give a theoretical background about the importance of using stories in teaching four basic skills and the second aim is to introduce a sample story with teaching strategies. Keywords: Literature, language teaching, stories, teaching strategies 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 101 Evaluation of in-service Training Activities Indented to Teachers in Turkey: A critical Analysis Hüseyin Yolcu Sadık Kartal Osman Yılmaz [email protected] In-service training aims to provide the individuals that are working at their jobs obtain necessary information, skill and attitude about their jobs. On the other hand, technology developments bring new information, technical instruments and in this regard it always forces workers to learning and self-development. As it is clearly indicated here, all of them require inservice training. Especially, it is possible that teachers who are the basic players of education to be informed all of developments in the education area by what is happening in-services training. In this perspective, the Ministry of National Educational (MoNE) always organizes the in-service training activities for the teachers who work in the public schools. These in-service training activities aim to help for the developments of teachers’ knowledge, skills and increase their productivity as well as to ensure scientific and technological developments and to prepare the top tasks. MoNE determines the courses that will be organized to take the views from the central organization and provincial as well as overseas agencies. In this process, the MoNE tries to be in cooperation with the other ministries, universities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), official and private institutions. The aim of this study is to review the in-service training activities that have been arranged by the MoNE in the last 15-year (between 2001 and 2015) period. This study used the content analysis and in-service training activities arranged by the MoNE. The results of the study were categorized under three the subtitles of field, professional knowledge and general culture. The activities were taken according to the years and encoded under above stated categorizes, and calculated percentage and frequencies. Two starting points were detected: One of the themes was the teacher requirement which was in the teacher education literature. The second was technological developments related to digital education. In this study, it was observed that approximately one thousand in-service training activates were arranged by the MoNE every year. The courses of measurement and evaluation, teaching and learning, as well as guidance were provided. Keywords: Service training, teacher education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 102 Teacher Professional Development: Induction and Mentoring Probationary Teachers in Turkey Ilknur Savaskan [email protected] Introducing new teachers to the profession of teaching depends on the policies or legislations of a country or state. These can be found in various forms such as; the supervision of the school board, national examinations, mentoring/tutoring assistance, and induction programs. In the case of Turkey, there is a mandatory national induction program for newly qualified teachers. This induction program is aimed at new teachers who are regarded as “probationary” or “candidate” teachers because they have recently completed initial training and gained the relevant qualification but do not have a license to teach yet and therefore they need to be formally assessed at the end of the program. In addition, this program entails the new teacher, in collaboration with a mentoring teacher, to work towards meeting the induction standards, a prerequisite for being appointed as a teacher working in a state school. The present study explores the framework of the induction program in Turkey and the duties of the probationary teacher and his/her mentor teacher according to the central mandatory program designed by the Ministry of National Education. The study is twofold: The first section aims to highlight the standards and criteria, defined by the Turkish Ministry of National Education. Here, an overview of the probationary teacher’s and mentor’s training goals and assessment criteria as stated in the documents provided and designed by the Ministry of National Education are provided. The second section attempts to address the weaknesses of the probationary teacher faces during the first year of teaching. A survey was administered to a total of 28 participants who had graduated from the English Language Teaching Department at Uludag University in the academic year of 2013 and in order to cross-check the results of the survey, an interview was conducted with a total of 9 of these participants. The findings of the survey displayed that the induction program in Turkey is an opportunity for the probationary teacher’s acclimation of new professional practices relating to both teaching and to administrative work. However, the assessment factor of the program seems to constitute insecurities for the probationary teacher and this inhibits this opportunity to be fully realized. The interviews revealed the mutual difficulties that the probationary teachers faced. Here, the most frequently recurring answers displayed that the probationary teachers were still lacking the knowledge and skills relating to other professional duties such as discipline, clerical, administrative and bureaucratic tasks. Keywords: induction program, mentor, probationary teacher, teacher development 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 103 Teacher Influence on Promoting and Impeding Learner Autonomy in Young Learners Ilknur Savaskan [email protected] For decades learner autonomy has been addressed by many researchers. However, an investigation of the literature reveals that the concept of learner autonomy in young learners lacks the same popularity. Therefore, as an attempt to address this gap, the present research attempts to investigate from various perspectives how teachers within the context of the classroom can be influential in developing the learner autonomy of young learners. Classroom settings are critical components in the fostering of autonomy because they provide the setting for the teacher and the learner to relate to one another and thus develop their relationship which can either promote or impede the autonomy of the learner. Classroom contexts are environments providing various opportunities for the teacher to assist the learner in the fostering of autonomy. Therefore, in order to affirm the premise on which the present study is based on, a review of the literature relating to how children can benefit from autonomy supportive teachers in the classroom are investigated. The present study aims to explore three different influences, taking place within the structuring of an autonomy supportive classroom environment for young learners: The first influence is based on the teacher’s motivational style. The second influence relates to classroom events in terms of affordances; the influence of autonomy dependent of the teacher’s offering of choice of activities. And finally, external events such as conducting alternative assessment are covered. Throughout the study, the potential value of autonomy supportive teachers is underlined and examples of pedagogical research relevant to the consideration of the varying extents to which it is plausible for the teacher to develop young learner autonomy are provided. This study is a review article based on the identification of how the teacher can be influential during instruction and attempts to provide practical examples from various perspectives which can guide and form a basis for teachers who want to foster the autonomy of young learners within their own classroom environment. Keywords: learner autonomy, classroom, teacher training, motivation, assessment 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 104 Middle School Principals' Perceptions of School Violence Ioannis Dimakos Athanasia Apostolopoulou [email protected] The issue of school violence and bullying has been extensively studied globally in the last two decades. It is common knowledge that bullying refers to the systematic and repeatable attacks of students towards other students who may be inferior in physical strength, younger in age, and weaker than their attackers. Olweus was the first to report on this issue and plenty of studies have investigated the issue abroad and in Greece. However, despite the multitude of studies, little is known about the role of school administrators and their perceptions of school violence incidents. The purpose of this study was to investigate how middle school (gymnasium) principals reacted to the reported bullying incidents occurring in their schools. Accordingly, twelve principals and vice-principals from various middle schools of the Achaia prefecture participated in the study. They responded to nine hypothetical scenarios, three per category of verbal, physical, and emotional violence. They were asked to indicate the seriousness of each incident, the strategies for tackling the problem described in the scenario and the goals they thought their strategies would achieve in the process. Results suggested that principals and viceprincipals rated the emotional violence scenarios as the most difficult to deal with, whereas the scenarios of physical and verbal bullying were deemed to be easier ones. Principals also selected a variety of strategies for each bullying scenario, with dialogue with the perpetrator and communication with the parents being two of the most popular strategies. Additional strategies included cooperation with school psychologists and school counselors. Moreover, empowerment teamwork programs could also be adopted in serious cases, according to the respondents. The reasons for the aforementioned choices of strategies were; empathy, discipline and need to call for help. These results suggested that administrators did understand the severity of the problem, but also had the ability to be flexible in their choice of handling the situation. Hopefully, the application of such strategies and the support of the entire school community may help alleviate the problem of bullying. Keywords: school violence, bullying, principals, middle school 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 105 Biopedagogism: A New Teacher Training Model in Special Education? Irene Maleskou Spyridon-Georgios [email protected] Soulis Ismini-Charikleia Karatzeni Vasileios Masouras The question about the appropriate training of special education teachers is timeless and exceptionally crucial. Teachers’ education and continuing professional development constitute an institution of strategic importance and therefore, this paper focuses on the analysis and the implementation of new pedagogical theories. One of these new pedagogical theories is Biopedagogism. More specifically, Biopedagogism is an interdisciplinary approach between Biology and the pedagogico – educational strategy, which reflects the evolutionary shaping of the human brain. The theoretical frame of Biopedagogism is based on the hierarchical evolutionary principle of the four basic capacities of human: The first capacity that emerged was the Technological capacity (Τ). It was followed by the Social/ Socialization capacity (S), then by the Language/Literacy capacity (L) and finally by the Numeracy/Theorizing capacity (N/Τ). During the evolutionary process of the Homo species, competences were formed on these four capacities. According to the above, the purpose of this recommendation is to demonstrate the implementation of Biopedagogism as a training model for special education teachers. For the research needs, an empirical study was conducted in the region of Epirus during the 2014 – 2015 school year. The purpose of this research was to record the relationship between Biopedagogism and teachers’ education and continuous professional development in the field of special educational needs. The results of this pilot study indicate a positive correlation between biopedagogism and teachers’ training in Special Education, while leaving this field open and determining the necessity for further investigation. Keywords: Biopedagogism, Teachers, Special Education, Biology, training, correlation 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 106 Ecosystem of Teacher and Education in Novels Irfan Erdoğan Yar Ali Mete Hüseyin Serin [email protected] Literature is a full of written and verbal data of materials based on language, which shows thoughts, emotions and dreams of people, and has literary and aesthetics value. Literature and education are tightly coupled to each other. In terms of word stem, literature means “good education and behaviors and words that are approved by the society”. In literary works, it can be seen that literature as a science is connected with education. According to Kavcar (2000), “most of the literary works were written to educate people for various aims”. The connection between literature and education makes education the most important subjects of literary works. While writing, writers are affected by the environment that he/she is in. By this way, between fiction and reality, the writers become closer to the projection of reality. In this survey, the novels that have teacher characters, and in which the ecosystem, time, place are about teacher images are studied. The writers create an ecosystem while using teacher image and construct the novel while creating vegetation system in this ecosystem. In Turkish literature, we can see this characteristic in lexical items of realist novels. In this survey, we have tried to analyze teacher typology and ecosystems that take place in realist novels. The analyses are based on lexical items about teacher, head master, environment inside and outside school and families. Document review is done in the survey. The novels in the survey are “Çalıkuşu” “Yeşil Gece” and “Acımak” by Reşat Nuri Güntekin, “Vurun Kahpeye” by Halide Edip Adıvar. The sample of the survey is the teachers and also the main characters and supporting characters of these novels. Each of them are analyzed separately and compared and shown in kora scheme. Content analysis is done in the survey. In the analysis, teacher, class vegetations, society vegetations and environment ecosystems are analyzed separately and compared in kora scheme. In data analysis, samples from the novels are used and made references. In making references, writings in the novels are used; no changes are done. And then, conclusions are drawn with interpretations. Later, these structures are discussed in integrity and successes and failures reasons of teachers in transforming different vegetations which are in their ecosystem are discussed. Finally, we have tried to create a model teacher typology that can be successful in different ecosystems and vegetations. Keywords: Novel, Teacher 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 107 Improving Teaching Practices in Foreign Language Classrooms: A Focus nn EFL Exam Preparation Classes Irini Papakammenou [email protected] Limited research has been undertaken in the Greek context (Tsagari, 2009, 2012) on the influence of language exams on teaching and learning, even though Greece has a strong examination culture (Gass & Reed, 2011; Tsagari & Papageorgiou, 2012). Greece presents an interesting pedagogical ecology since Greek students participate in more than one exam in the same exam period. The term ‘multi-exam’ class best describes the variety of exams which are taught in the same exam preparation classes in Greece presenting an interesting pedagogical ecology. This new teaching challenge calls for reflective investigation both regarding the nature of teaching and the research practices. This paper, drawing on a work in progress, aims to present an investigation into the washback effect (Alderson & wall, 1993) of multi-exam classes on teaching practices in Greece. It focuses on teachers’ instruction providing a systematic investigation of teachers’ teaching methodology when preparing English language learners for high-stakes exams. A distinction is made between ‘methods’, ‘activities’ and ‘tasks’ regarding teacher’s methodology and the extent to which teachers’ approaches are influenced by the nature and requirements of multi-exam classes is investigated. This paper will present not only the theoretical underpinnings and research design of the study but also the overall research methods, video recorded observations, pre-, post- and follow-up interviews with teachers, the questionnaire and the methods of analysis. It will then present findings showing the results on teachers’ pedagogy and what teaching strategies, activities and tasks are used in exam preparation classes. It will also present teacher’s beliefs and the factors affecting their decisions. Finally, it will focus on results on washback effect of these exam preparation programs which show how crucial it is to investigate teaching in exam preparation classes. The paper will show the value of research on teacher education. It will contribute to a teacher’s voice which, so far, has been absent from the local and national level providing valuable information on teachers’ needs for training. New methodologies and possible ways to cope with the demands that exams and classroom assessment create will be presented. Therefore, teachers will be able to balance teaching and learning with testing and assessment. Keywords: assessment, testing, research, teachers, teaching strategies, exams, washback 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 108 The Perceptions of Teachers on the Arrangement of Teaching Activities Based on Arcs Motivation Model Ismet Kaya Kasım Karataş Tuncay Ardiç [email protected] Because of this reason, so many theories and models related to motivation, a psychological concept in education, have been developed up to now. One of the developed models is ARCS (Attention-Relevance-Confidence-Satisfaction) Motivation Model (Keller, 1979) in which the factor of motivation is taken into account and even put in the core of teaching process. According to the Keller’s motivation model, there are four subdimensions that increase the level of motivation and hold level of motivation steady at a certain point in the process of learning. These subdimensions are “Attention”, “Relation”, “Trust” and “Satisfaction”. Developed to increase teacher impact and to make the factor of motivation distinctive in the process of teaching, ARCS Model provide certain strategies to arouse students’ interest in lessons and keep it on. The variable of motivation cannot be ignored in the process of education. So the teachers are expected to construct teaching activities and practices by taking the variable of motivation into account. Along with this expectation, the level of teachers’ taking the variable of motivation into an account is a topic of concern. So the aim of this study is to examine the perceptions of teachers on taking the variable of motivation into an account based on ARCS motivation model in the arrangement of teaching activities in teaching and learning process. In this study survey method has been adopted as it is aimed to reach a general judgement with the help of data obtained from a group (Karasar, 2009). Study group of this research constitutes total 382 (213 male and 169 female) teachers working in primary, secondary and high schools. In order to obtain data related to teachers’ arrangement of teaching activities based on ARCS motivation model “The Scale of Arranging Teaching Activities Based on ARCS Motivation Model” developed by the researchers was conducted. In this study, the mean scores obtained from the scale have showed that teachers arrange teaching activities in a way that they can motivate student in the process of teaching. To sum up the findings, teachers take students’ motivation into account in the process of teaching and arrange their teaching activities in a way that it can increase students’ motivation. Keywords: ARCS, Motivation, Teaching Activities. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 109 The Role of Research in Professional Development Using Structured Academic Controversy Jacquelyn Melin Sally Hipp [email protected] Educating competent teachers to ensure professionalism is crucial in increasing the quality of education. An essential element of professional development is teaching teachers to become critical consumers of research. By analyzing research teachers can share concepts, develop critical reflection and apply research to innovative teaching methods. There are few aspects of education on which all research studies are in total agreement. Studies have been done on both sides of issues such as standardized testing, literacy instruction, online learning, teacher evaluation models, differentiated instruction – just to name a few. In a report by the British Educational Research Association (BERA), the authors share that “there is strong evidence that teachers and teacher educators need to engage with research, in the sense of keeping up to date with the latest developments in their academic subject and on effective instructional techniques to inform their pedagogical content knowledge”. Reading research is one important way teachers learn about teaching and learning. Teachers benefit from reading research critically as they collaborate to work through research studies together. “Contribution of research to continuing professional development is potentially highly significant; the use of research-based knowledge, theoretical insights and involvement in research processes all feature strongly in the evidence about professional development and in the selection and use of tools to aid teachers’ learning”. Structured Academic Controversy (SAC), a tool developed by cooperative learning researchers Johnson and Johnson (1994), is one strategy that encourages teachers to take on and argue for BOTH sides of an issue and ultimately come up with a balanced opinion. During professional development that incorporates SAC, teachers work in pairs to become familiar with one side of an issue, debate with another pair who has become familiar with the opposing side of that issue. Then switch “sides,” become familiar with the opposing argument, and debate again. Finally, the pairs come together to discuss each side and come to a consensus about their collective opinion regarding the argument. While using SAC during professional development, many positive outcomes are observed. When reading and discussing research studies on controversial issues in education, teachers use complex reasoning skills, higher quality decision making, and have increased motivation and energy to take action. In this session, attendees learn about how SAC is used during professional development to help teachers become critical consumers of educational research. Keywords: research, professional development, structured academic controversy 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 110 Experiencing Mentorship, as a Field for Professional Development in Early Childhood Education Kafenia Botsoglou Eleftheria Beazidou [email protected] In this paper we will present the results of a case study, concerning the role of Mentors, in the frame of school practice for early childhood education students. Aim of the study was to sketch how early childhood education teachers perceived their role as mentors, built their relationships with the students, the difficulties that they had to manage during this experience, and the way that they finally evaluated this new role for their professional development. In order to record the Early Childhood Teacher's views we made semi structured interviews in the 7 teachers who participated in the program. The results of the study showed us that for all the participants this experience was a positive one, which gave them new challenges and opportunities in their work. Keywords: mentors, early childhood education teachers, professional development 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 111 Developing a Professional Community of Learning and Practice through the Hellenic Practicum Network for Early Childhood Education Kafenia Botsoglou Vasilis Tsafos Μarianna Τzekaki [email protected] The Hellenic Practicum Network was founded in 2007 by the initiative of academic and research members coming from almost all the Schools of Early Childhood Education in Greece. The members of the group, consisted of about thirty (30) academics and fifty (50) educational partners, meet about once every year and develop reflection and dialogue concerning the improvement of Practicum applied by the Schools of Education. These Schools, strongly related to the educational process, develop major Practicum Programs, whose the necessity but also the complexity are generally and worldwide recognized (Beck & Kosnik, 2002; LaBoskey & Richert, 2002). Practicum is a key component in any teacher education program. During this practical section of their studies the students have the opportunity to participate, observe, analyze both the educational environment and the educational process, to reflect in order to use practical and moral judgments for choosing strategies and plan their educational intervention, (Zeichner & Liston 1996; Lundeberg & Levin, 2003) and to experiment with teaching approaches and strategies and to test their forces in the classroom reality (Day, 2003). Thereby, linking theoretical approaches with practical applications (Anderson & Freebody, 2012), they also develop (except from academic knowledge) relevant professional skills (Feiman-Nemser, 2001) Research findings from all over the world record the particular difficulties that this connection between theoretical positions and practical applications reveals, similarly as organizing and supervising the students’ practices (Blömeke & Paine, 2008; Stephens, Tønnessen, & Kyriacou, 2004; Uljens, 2002). Issues like the model of practicum that is effective for educating future reflecting teachers (Blömeke & Pain, 2008) the potential guidance and the feedback that should be given to them, the views of educators and student teachers are only some of the elements that are involved in the development of practicum in the educational departments and are in the middle of network’s problematization. Moreover, as Cochran-Smith states that teaching and teacher education are political, in that they involve negotiation of conflicting beliefs and values about the purpose and role of schooling (2005). The systematic exchange and dialogue between the members of Hellenic Practicum Network, in the reflective, participative and cooperative context of this dynamic professional community, the efforts to synthetically publish research works (see. on Androussou, & Avgitidou, 2013 ) as well as to develop a common language and connections of different views and approaches in order to compose a handbook for the practicum in all schools of the country, are some of the current achievements of the EIS that will be presented in the conference. Keywords: Hellenic Practicum Network, teacher education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 112 School Principals’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Teachers’ Performance Evaluation Kalliope Kaltsonoudi Anastasia Athanasoula-Reppa [email protected] Inside the modern educational context, school principals are asked to take over new and more demanding roles. Reasonably, questions are raised regarding the parameters that mostly contribute to the definition of the employment behavior of principals in schools. A dynamic way to acquire deep knowledge of the principals, as entities within the school social system, is the examination of their beliefs and motivations. Based on social-cognitive theory of Bandura (1986) for leader’s self-efficacy in the execution of a task in a given context and in accordance with P.D. 152/2013 for the role of the principal as an implementing agent of the task of teachers administrative evaluation, is theoretically defined the research problem of this study. The research purpose is to reflect the views of principals’ self-efficacy beliefs on the exercise of teacher evaluation role. Based on literature review, the research hypotheses concern at the investigation of the existence or not of a significant statistical difference between principals’ evaluative self-efficacy beliefs and their demographic characteristics, as well as the correlation between principals’ general and specific evaluative self-efficacy beliefs. In the Greek educational reality, the contribution of principals’ self-efficacy beliefs on the effective teacher evaluation is a rather unexplored field. This research through quantitative approach uses as a means of data collection a structured questionnaire with closed questions (Likert) of 7-degree or 9degree scale. The used measurement scales are: (a) “Generalized Self-Efficacy-(GSE)” Scale of Schwarzer & Jerusalem (1995), (b) “General Principals’ Self-Efficacy Scale-(G_PSES)”, (c) "Principals’ Evaluative Self-Efficacy Scale-(AA)” and (d) Scale of “Evaluative Outcome Expectations-(EXP_RESULTS)”. The last three ones were constructed specifically for the needs of the research, for that it was carried out structural validation. Through simple random sampling of 249 Primary and Secondary schools in B΄ Education Directorate of Athens, it was finally gathered 151 principals’ self-report questionnaires, which formed the sample of the research. The results of the statistical analysis are fully consistent with the existing theory (Bandura, 1986) and the previous research on leaders’ self-efficacy (Tschannen-Moran & Gareis, 2004). They have demonstrated a high level of general (personal and directorial) self-efficacy beliefs in the sample. The specific evaluative self-efficacy beliefs reflected in slightly lower, but still satisfactory level. The principals’ demographic characteristics at personal and school level, showed no statistically significant differences in relation to their specific evaluative self-efficacy except from those holding a doctoral degree. Instead, the positive correlations of the two forms of general self-efficacy (personal and directorial) with the specific evaluative self-efficacy were statistically significant. Additionally, these two forms of general self-efficacy seemed to be predictor factors for the specific self-efficacy, with the factor of general personal self-efficacy to be stronger and more preferable. Similarly, a strong positive correlation between the specific evaluative self-efficacy and the expected results from the exercise of teachers’ evaluation task seemed to be equally statistically significant. Conclusions, implications and suggestions for further research are discussed. Keywords: School principals’ self-efficacy, general self-efficacy, specific self-efficacy, outcome expectations, teacher evaluation 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 113 The Evaluation of Educational Achievement Efficacy Area Outcomes of the Third Primary Class Guidance Program Kasım Karataş İsmet Kaya [email protected] One of the competence areas described in the Elementary and High School Classroom Guidance Program that is performed in Turkey is “educational achievement”. The general outcomes in the educational achievement competence area are; students develop positive attitudes towards learning, efficiently plan their time and use their free time in accordance with their interests. In addition, they review their study habits and obtain the efficient ways for learning. Therefore, the outcomes of educational achievement in the classroom guidance program have a great importance. In this study, the aim is to reach the information about the objectives of the program, classroom activities and effectiveness of the program as a whole by evaluating pupils’ achieving the goals of the action program's objectives relating to the competency area of a third grade primary school guidance program. What is the level of the students to reach outcomes of educational achievement competence area of a third grade primary school guidance program? In this study, the program has been evaluated by using screening model for sample-event (Karasar, 2009) because of the work on a limited group and adhering to measure demanded by the Tyler's goal-based approach programs. The study group of the research is 28 third grade students in Tokat KOMEC Village Primary School in 2013-2014 school years. Data was collected with "Student Self-Evaluation Form", "Observation Form", "Guidance Activities Assessment Form" in the Primary and the Secondary School Classroom Guidance Program and "Third Grade Educational Achievement Area Survey" which was developed by the researcher. In the analysis of quantitative data, when using the arithmetic mean, descriptive analysis technique was used for the analysis of qualitative data. According to the results of the descriptive analysis of "Self-Evaluation Form", which was applied in order to determine whether the student reached the gains related to educational attainment area with this program, and which was applied under the program at the end of each event, it was seen that the students reached their program goal. However, in line with guidance of the students' reactions, interests and desires, it was demonstrated that the program reached the aim of the activities and the activities were appropriate to developmental and educational level. According to the result of the survey of "Third Grade Educational Achievement Field Survey", it was concluded that the students reached the permanence of the desired target. As a result, according to the result of this study whose data were collected by Tyler's goal-based program evaluation approach, it can be said that objectives and activities implemented under the competency area of educational achievement of students in classroom guidance program were qualitative enough to contribute to the students and therefore effective. Keywords: Guidance, Classroom Guidance Program, Program Evaluation 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 114 Mentoring and Coaching: The Example of the Aianteio Primary School during its Participation in The Network of School Innovation (LDK) 2008-2011 Katerina Boutsi Theodora Tsiagani [email protected] The aim of the present paper is to bring out that coaching and mentoring are both important mechanisms that, despite being quite different, can be used in education contributing to the professional advancement of the participants so as to actively respond to the demands and recent developments in their work environments. Both coaching and mentoring intend to advance the best practices inside the learning environments they are applied, aiming at a Continuous Professional Development, CPD) (Bolam, 1993, Ηawkins & Smith, 2011). Coaching and mentoring practices were put into practice at the Aianteio Primary School at Salamina within the framework of the collaboration between the school and the Network of School Innovation during the years 2008-2011. My role in this project, resulting from the fact that I worked at the Network of School Innovation, was that of the coordinator of the schools where I mainly acted as a mentor. As a whole our central aim was the training and the enhancement of the teachers so as they could become able to implement innovative practices during their teaching. The kind of mentoring we adopted, (choosing from the existing kinds, mentoring for induction, for progression and mentoring for challenge), was mentoring for progression, which intended to help teachers with experience by developing their professional aptitude. In this case, the mentor assists the teachers to reframe and enrich their previous knowledge and experience in order to understand the policies and philosophy of a new environment and so manage to successfully face new information (Bubb, 2005, 2007). That particular process played a crucial part in the school identity and culture as it created an unprecedented environment of change where collaboration practices developed not only between all the members of the school community (Head-teacher, the school staff, students and parents), but also between other people and the school, and between other schools and the school. Mentoring functioned exemplarily and strengthened the production of critical discourse on the educational process; on a further level it assisted the teachers to recognize the fact that despite the limitations posed by their working framework, at the same time there exist many opportunities for active intervention and change. Keywords: Collaboration, professional development and progress, mentoring and coaching, the development of abilities and skills. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece The Relationship between the Conflict Management Strategies of the Primary Education Administrators and Organizational Climate According to Teachers’ Perceptions Kazim Celik Kadir Catakdere [email protected] Conflict management is the way of action taken by the conflicting sides or another third party. Conflict management might need the presence of conflict which stands at a level and the management of this conflict in different conditions with the appropriate strategies. Organization climate is the series of features that gives an identity to the organization or affects the behaviors of the members of the school organization. The organizational climate of a school is the whole of inside features of the institution which form the behaviors of the members and distinguish that school from others. The aim of this research which was performed by the relational search (scanning) model is to define the relation between school managers’ conflict management strategies and the organizational climate based on the teachers’ perceptions. The research was performed on a total of 230 primary and secondary school teachers who worked in Tire and Bayındır provinces of İzmir in 2013-2014 Academic Year. The data of the research was obtained by Şahin (2007) “Conflict Management Strategies of School Principals Scale’’ and with the help of the translation of “Organizational Climate Perception Scale’’ by Yalçınkaya (2000). The results revealed that according to the teachers’ perception, there was not a significant difference between their type of institutions, the schools which they graduated from, the working background in their schools and their branches while the directors performed conflict strategies. Most of the teachers in the early years of their profession had negative thoughts about the conflict management methods of the principals but it was observed that they chose the way of reconciliation by recognizing the institution and developing communication by the time. However, it is clear that the increase in the school principals’ communication skills affected their perception of conflict management strategies in a positive manner. Additionally, the organizational climate of the schools had a parallel rise with the principals’ conflict strategies in the teachers’ perception. Finally, in this study the concepts of domination and avoidance of conflict management strategies of managing principals’ perceptions of organizational climate had a significant effect on the result obtained. Keywords: Conflict, Conflict Management, Organizational Climate 115 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 116 The Music of Measurement and Evaluation Concepts Kenan Demir [email protected] In this study, the concepts of measurement were taught by using different ways. In teaching the concepts of this course’s content, many different teaching-learning ways such as mainly creative drama, cooperative learning, multiple intelligences, various encodings, analogy, games, music, dance, rhythm, were used together in coordination. After teaching-learning activities in the course, students wrote lyrics about the concepts of this measurement-evaluation, set the music of popular songs appropriate to these words and presented these studies in the classroom. At the end of study carried out by 2nd year students of music department a total of 33 songs on the concepts of measurement-evaluation were comprised. The words written by the students to reflect the concepts of measurement-evaluation were rendered to be presented in a concert by adapted to today's popular songs’ music. At the end of the preparatory works done throughout an academic year, a concert with 13 songs was organized called "The Music of Concepts". The concert was conducted by 35 students. At the beginning and end of the study, conducted with pre/post-test quasi-experimental design without control group, a multiple-choice achievement test was used. In order to ensure the scope of validity of data collection tool developed by the researcher, indicator chart and expert opinions were utilized. The qualitative data were obtained by taking written opinions and focus group interviews. For both of interviews, an interview form composed of open-ended questions based on expert opinion was used. In the comparison of the average scores t test was used for associated (dependent) samples. These qualitative data were analyzed descriptively. At the end of the study carried out through original activities, it was determined that the difference between two average scores of 31 students, who obtained them from pre and post-test, was statistically significant in favor of the final test at the 0,05 level of significance. Students participated in this study stated that they reinforced what they had learned in the course thanks to the concert preparations by repeating them in different ways. Thus they learned permanently and in a funny way by transferring information to real life and such activities made positive contributions to the teaching skills of them. At the end of the study, it was determined that using various educational ways together by blending them increased students’ achievements significantly. And again it was determined that original activities affected the students’ various features such as creativity, collaboration, selfconfidence. Keywords: Measurement, evaluation, creative teaching-learning, creative drama, concept teaching, 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 117 Supporting Professional Development of Teachers in Classroom Use of ICT via Distance Learning Adaptability Konstantina Kotsari Michail Kostoglou [email protected] This proposal describes the construction of the theoretical framework of distance learning training of teachers with regards to the use of ICT in classroom teaching. Specifically, it discusses the ability of teachers to design and use a logo-like learning environment through the construction of educational geometry scenarios. At the same time they have the opportunity to engage in experiential activities of meaning making, analysis and application of digital tools (Web 2.0), and modeling artifacts in practice. As such, teachers learn to construct logo-like environments, using E-slate software for teaching geometry or other disciplines in Elementary School. Based on principles of distance learning and adult education we built specific activities in accordance with the principles of the “New Learning” (Kalantzis and Cope, 2013) and personalization according to the needs of the learner. We used the platform INSPIREus, an innovation in the field of distance education, which could be used to train teachers in the use of ICT with additional educational value in the classroom. However, as reported by Hanson & Robson (2003), the primary issue is the parameter of the learning effectiveness in Online Learning and the detection of the pedagogical dimension of tools to support learning norms in conjunction with communication and interaction. Nevertheless, the fact that new technologies are the basis of an evolving socio - economic change, which does not leave out the influence of the educational system, could be the framework of teachers professional development. In this context, this presentation is a proposal to implement distance teacher training, taking into account the strengthening of the role of the teacher. In this framework, the teacher as designer of activities appears in the model TPACK through multiple interactions that apply the triple dynamic parameters of knowledge: Content Knowledge (CK), Pedagogical Knowledge (PK) and Technological Knowledge (TK). These dynamic dimensions of knowledge in education are the mainstay of the planning proposal training scenarios concerning with the pedagogical use of ICT in teaching practice through the adaptive learning platform, INSPIREus. Keywords: Distance Learning, Teacher training, Adaptive learning platform, Professional development, Design activities 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 118 Teacher training: Basic Characteristics of the Educator of the 21st Century Konstantinos Kalemis Anna Kostarelou [email protected] Teaching in the 21st century will be profoundly impacted by universal access to information, advances in neuroscience that help us better understand learning processes and the development of assessment tools which guide teaching interventions. Contemporary teaching needs to be much more than information transmission. Teachers need to respond to these developments and integrate them into their practice, working collaboratively to solve problems and share the latest advances in practice. Just as we require high standards for entry into other professional degrees like medicine, law and psychology, we should require equally high standards for entry into teacher education. Therefore, there needs to be some rationalization of the numbers of school-leavers studying teaching at the undergraduate level, particularly in areas of over-supply. Large scale education in virtual worlds is an emerging phenomenon. The subject has been discussed in the literature for almost two decades but there is little agreement on how to design an effective virtual environment for learning (Cobb and Fraser, 2005). Many of the existing research projects have taken a social constructivist approach to learning in virtual worlds. Social constructivist learning looks at the students as “constructors and producers of personal knowledge” (Jonassen, 1996). Thus, schools of education must design programs that help prospective teachers to understand deeply a wide array of things about learning, social and cultural contexts, and teaching and be able to enact these understandings in complex classrooms serving increasingly diverse students; in addition, if prospective teachers are to succeed at this task, schools of education must design programs that transform the kinds of settings in which novices learn to teach and later become teachers. This means that the enterprise of teacher education must venture out further and further from the university and engage ever more closely with schools in a mutual transformation agenda, with all of the struggle and messiness involved. Distance education is becoming increasingly common in higher education. Various network–based methods are now used to complement classroom education to reduce the effects of distance, making it independent of time and physical location. One of the perennial dilemmas of teacher education is how to integrate theoretically based knowledge that has traditionally been taught in university classrooms with the experience-based knowledge that has traditionally been located in the practice of teachers and the realities of classrooms and schools. Traditional versions of teacher education have often had students taking batches of front-loaded course work in isolation from practice and then adding a short dollop of student teaching to the end of the program—often in classrooms that did not model the practices that had previously been described in abstraction. By contrast, the most powerful programs require students to spend extensive time in the field throughout the entire program, examining and applying the concepts and strategies they are simultaneously learning about in their courses alongside teachers who can show them how to teach in ways that are responsive to learners. Although teacher education is only one component of what is needed to enable high-quality teaching, it is essential for the success of all the other reforms urged on schools. To advance knowledge about teaching, to spread good practice, and to enhance equity for children, thus, it is essential that teacher educators and policy makers seek strong preparation for teachers that is universally available, rather than a rare occurrence that is available only to a lucky few. Keywords: teacher's training, evaluation, e-learning, experience-based knowledge 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 119 “…and They Lived Happily Ever After!” The Use of Narrative in Researching Greek and Turkish Student Teachers’ Perceptions of the Ethnic “Other” Kostas Magos [email protected] The use of storytelling and narrative in educational research is not an innovation. Many researchers have used narrative as a means for researching perceptions and attitudes of teachers. Teachers, through narrative inquiry, can rethink their work and see the changes they make each year, whether they are successful or not. Narratives help teachers reexamine and reflect the views and positions they have already adopted through a fresh critical eye. The reflection on previous perceptions and attitudes constitutes the beginning of a transformative process that is capable of leading someone towards the change of these perceptions and attitudes. There are a large number of studies in which narrative and storytelling have been used for intercultural training, both for student and in-service teachers. Overall, these studies agree that teachers who, through narratives, analyze and interpret their school practices may gradually succeed in raising intercultural awareness while also achieving professional and personal improvement. Many researchers underline the importance of using personal stories as, through such a method, it is possible to demonstrate how teachers use their cultural references to create teaching and learning environments related to the existence of intercultural dimensions. The aim of the research presented here is to search the perceptions of Greek and Turkish female pre and post-graduate student teachers of primary and secondary education concerning the ethnic “self”, the ethnic “other” and the desired relationship between them. The participants of the research were 102 Greek female pre-graduate students of the Department of Pre-school Education of the University of Thessaly and 36 Turkish female post-graduate students of School of Education of Bilkent University. The methodology used was the narrative inquiry, which was based on the analysis of the sample members’ narratives. Although in most researches the autobiographical narratives or life stories of the sample members are used, folk tales, jokes and funny stories or other types of speech coming from research subjects’ narratives can be effectively used too. In this specific research the narratives analyzed use the motif of a folk tale. A story made for this purpose was given to the research subjects where the main heroes represented the ethnic self and the ethnic other. The students who participated in the research were asked to finish the story as they wished. The findings of the research highlighted that the narratives of both Greek and Turkish student teachers often appeared to be the common stereotypes concerning the ethnic “other” but at the same time they expressed the willingness these stereotypes to be overcome through the creation of a fruitful and effective relationship between the ethnic “self” and the ethnic “other”. Keywords: narrative, storytelling, teacher education, stereotypes, Greece, Turkey 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 120 Teachers’ Pedagogical Competence in Primary School. Examining the Classroom Climate of Schools Using the Comprehensive Reformed Curriculum Lampros Papadimas [email protected] In 2010, the Ministry of Education decided to introduce a new type of all-day schools, Schools with Comprehensive Reformed Curriculum. This new proposal about primary schools compared with traditional primary schools, included several changes to daily curriculum such as extended school time, enriched program with new teaching subjects and activities, and the inclusion of specialist subject teachers etc. (Ministry of Education, 2011). Specialist subject teachers graduate from the universities that traditionally prepare secondary teachers. Although the aforementioned scheme has not been sufficiently studied, it receives a strong criticism. One of the reasons might be the lack of pedagogical competence of specialist subject teachers (Grollios & Liampas, 2012). This criticism seems to be justified. The preparation of specialist subject teachers is focused exclusively on the specific content knowledge of their respective discipline (i.e. music, ICT, literacy, etc.). Preparation in pedagogical content knowledge, seems to be substandard and insufficient (Kassotakis, 2010), despite the fact that both of these factors are crucial for the quality of teaching and student understanding (Buchmann, 1982, 1983; Doyle, 1986; Feiman-Nemser & Buchmann, 1987; Tobin & Garnett, 1988, Ιn: Cochran et al., 1991). The interest of this study is to examine the classroom climate of Schools using the Comprehensive Reformed Curriculum, comparing the teaching practices of teachers and specialist subject teachers. The research which is a case study took place in a primary school that worked under Comprehensive Reformed Curriculum. All teachers of the school have been involved (13 teachers and 6 specialist subject teachers). The chosen methods were observation combined with semi-structured interviews. The observation process included 38 hours (2 hours for each participant). Personal semi-structured interviews took place to examine the perceptions of participants about their pedagogical role. According to the research results, practices of teachers and specialist subject teachers do not seem to have many differences in terms of forming the classroom climate. The most common practices, of all the participants, seem to be more pedagogical than authoritarian. The most common authoritarian practices seem to be associated with the way communication is formed in the classroom. According to the interviews’ result, most of the specialist subject teachers acknowledge their lack of pedagogical competence compared to regular teachers. They also believe that they should have a more effective preservice training, concerning their pedagogical competence and they strongly recommend that this training should take place during their initial training. Keywords: Classroom climate, Pedagogical competence, Pedagogical content knowledge, Content knowledge, Specialist subject teachers, Comprehensive Reformed Curriculum 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 121 In-Service Science Teachers' Development of TPACK through a Blended Training Program in Greece Lemonia Antonoglou Dimitrios Psillos Athanasios Taramopoulos [email protected] A highly desirable competence of science teachers is to effectively integrate Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their science courses. To this aim, a blended teacher professional development program combining live sessions, synchronous sessions from a distance through BlackBoard Collaborate and asynchronous activities through Moodle was designed and implemented for primary and secondary teachers from diverse remote regions in Greece. The program is a part of a national wide long term project supported by the Ministry of Education and Institute Diofantos. Key design factors integrated into the program for science teachers are; i) fostering the development of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), ii) learning ICT by design, iii) inter-relating face to face, synchronous and asynchronous activities and iv) involving teachers in their professional development with regard to ICT. This paper reports on aspects of science teachers’ development of TPACK during and after their participation on the blended training program, which was conducted in six Training Support Centers. An investigation was conducted focusing on the way that participant teachers (N= 50) employed ICT to design educational activities, worksheets and scenarios and to create learning opportunities for their students in their science courses. Moreover, a triangulation analysis of data from mid- and post-training questionnaires and targeted-group interviews after the completion of the program was conducted. The findings of this study revealed that most participants were satisfied with their participation in the blended training program as they believed that this program helped them to develop their TPACK competencies. Furthermore, the results from the coding and the analysis of the interview transcripts based on the TPACK framework as well as the content analysis of the worksheets, which were designed, developed and implemented by the teachers during the period of their training, show that the blended training program enhances in-service teachers' TPACK and support them towards designing effective instructional technological strategies with ICT for their science courses. Keywords: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Science Teachers, Blended Training Program 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 122 Preparing Secondary Teachers to Adopt Teamwork of Students as a TeachingLearning Tool Leonidas Gomatos [email protected] Student teamwork has been praised and suggested since the era of Dewey; the merits of this teaching-learning tool regarding what we call nowadays ‘development of social and emotional skills’ have been repeatedly described by pedagogic writers throughout the 20th century as well as in our days. The efficacy of this teaching method, which comprises student working groups in the classroom, with respect to cognitive development and with respect to learning of the specific subjects has been the object of research during the last decades so as to find out under which conditions this method could be effective. Teachers’ attitudes and practices regarding this teaching-learning tool have nevertheless been less investigated. In this research an intervention is described regarding secondary prospective teachers who are following initial teacher preparation; these teachers are trained in a specific student group work teaching-learning model. This model, described in this work, is put into practice afterwards in real classes towards the end of their training. The research questions of this work are the following: What kind of difficulties do teachers who have been prepared to use a model of student group work encounter when putting this model in practice?, How do they assess the applicability of this model after having used it in practice? To answer these questions, a questionnaire has been prepared and handed out to the prospective teachers after the realization by them of student group work teaching in real classes. The experiences and stances of the student-teachers regarding this model as well as the difficulties encountered are registered through this questionnaire. The chief findings are: a) Prospective teachers usually report two major sources of difficulties; the first one is to choose the appropriate open-ended task to be assigned to the groups. The second concerns the phase of group work; difficulties to handle the questions from different groups and to motivate students so that everybody participates within each group. Some other difficulties are reported as well, less frequent than the two major sources mentioned above, b) They consider in majority that the model can be used often in everyday school practice with some difficulties that can be overtaken easily. This finding is encouraging when compared to the rather cautious up to reluctant attitude of in-service teachers towards the systematic use of student group work in secondary education. Keywords: Student teamwork, difficulties, applicability, teacher preparation. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 123 Conceptualizing Inclusive Education: Final-year Undergraduate Students’ perspectives on Inclusive Education and Disability in the Faculties of Preschool Education in Greece and Cyprus Lia Tsermidou [email protected] Eudoxia Deropoulou-Derou Athina Zoniou-Sideri Konstantina Lampropoulou Inclusive education is increasingly becoming the most appropriate framework for the organization of educational, social and political systems in Europe and worldwide. Faculties of Education around the world in line with international sociopolitical trends have introduced a series of actions aimed at promoting the concept of inclusive education and relevant issues. In recent decades, core courses on inclusive education and disability have also been included in the undergraduate programs of study at the Faculties of Early Childhood Education in Greece and Cyprus. The purpose of these courses is to familiarize undergraduate students with the theoretical framework for inclusive education, i.e. with pedagogical approaches applied within the context of mainstream education and which respect the principles of a democratic school, thereby promoting "equality for all" (Slee, 2004, Armstrong, 2004, Watkins, 2003). In order to meet this objective, it is essential that the perspectives of final-year undergraduate students on inclusive education and disability be explored, as they can decisively determine the leeway to develop and change the educational practice. This presentation hence maps the prevailing perceptions of disability in a student population which is simultaneously close to graduation and to the educational reality, as the latter is reflected in the pre-service teacher training. The data used emanate from a quantitatively-oriented longitudinal study employing a descriptive research method, the survey research. The findings of the study highlighted the students’ adoption of a theoretical discourse on inclusive education in support of the struggle against exclusion and discrimination experienced by disabled students. However, contradictions were detected in the same students’ discourse regarding the feasibility of inclusive education within mainstream educational settings. Consequently, concerns are raised whether prospective teachers, before the completion of their studies, have actually reflected on issues related to inclusive education to such an extent that they can shift from preaching the benefits of inclusive education to adopting and accommodating inclusive education in practice. The results of this study could potentially inform research concerning inclusive education and the findings could act as a springboard for feedback and assessment of the opportunities offered by the Faculties of Early Childhood Education towards inclusive education. Keywords: Inclusive education, Disability, Higher Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 124 Developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) in Primary Teachers: The Introduction of an Explicit PCK Course Maria Chaitidou Anna Spyrtou Petros Kariotoglou [email protected] The study reported here is a part of a Project named "Science Teacher Education" which aims to investigate how primary teachers extend their teaching views and practices, by adopting and designing inquiry based Teaching-Learning Sequences (TLSs) (Tiberghien, Vince, & Gaidioz 2009). Particularly, this research focuses on four teachers’ PCK development which takes place in an in-service participatory training program. The theoretical context of this study is based on the well-documented consideration that the development of PCK is considered to be a main goal of teacher education since PCK includes teachers’ understanding of how students learn specific subject matter (Van Driel & Berry 2012). Additionally, the explicit introduction of PCK to teachers has been recently introduced (Loughran et al 2008) raising further questions to the related research area. In the paper, firstly we will describe the theoretical as well as the practice phase of the program. Specifically the first phase includes: (i) the explicit introduction of PCK components, namely Content, Pedagogy, Context and (ii) teachers’ engagement in an inquiry TLS concerning nanotechnology. In the practice phase teachers design and implement two TLSs in real classrooms. Furthermore, it will be presented and discussed the results derived from a questionnaire that was based on a tool well known as Content Representations (CoRes) (Loughran, Mulhall, & Berry 2004). The questionnaires, pre and post, were implemented at the begging and in the end of the program respectively. The results revealed seven categories on teachers’ PCK development concerning their Pedagogy, Content and Context knowledge. Keywords: Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Teacher Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 125 Interculturalism in Professional Learning of Kindergarten Teachers Maria Giannousopoulou [email protected] Research conducted in the field of early childhood education has highlighted the significance of adopting adult learning and professional learning principles in order to promote the continuing professional development of teachers, especially regarding intercultural education. In this respect, it has been generally agreed upon that teaching effectiveness depends largely on the extent to which teachers engage in critical reflection on their practices, as well as in collaborative and participatory learning processes related to all levels of their school unit, thus transforming it into a learning community. In the light of the above, the purpose of this paper is to present a qualitative study which has been carried out in the area of Ierapetra, Crete so as to explore the views and experiences of 12 kindergarten teachers concerning interculturalism and its relation to professional learning. More specifically, aiming at addressing a significant gap in research regarding early childhood education in Greece, this study focused on investigating the participants’ views on their own intercultural competence and the problem-solving techniques used in their intercultural practice, as well as their views, attitudes and experiences about various forms of professional learning they can employ to effectively manage diversity within their multicultural classes and hence fulfil the needs of all their learners. For the purposes of this research, the required data were collected by means of semi-structured one-to-one and focus group interviews while qualitative content analysis was employed in order to analyze and interpret them in a systematic way. Illustrating the ineffectiveness of previous training and the consequent de-professionalization of their role as reflective practitioners, the findings reveal that, in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes, the participants have not developed their intercultural competence to a satisfactory level yet and that they employ rather few and inappropriate strategies and techniques to solve the numerous problems they encounter in intercultural practice. In this respect, they have highlighted the fundamental elements of an appropriate inservice training program which needs to aim at their professional empowerment and incorporate both formal and informal learning techniques so as to help them expand their knowledge base, develop their skills, transform their attitudes and eventually enhance their intercultural teaching and learning practices. Based on the participants’ responses, therefore, it can be argued that conditions in these kindergartens are mature enough for such a venture; to that end, scientific support or constructive cooperation with academics will be crucial so that, by bridging the gap between theory and practice, practitioners are able to create new knowledge by exploring and critically reflecting on their experiences and practices. Keywords: Interculturalism, professional learning, early childhood education, learning community. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 126 Distance teacher training in ICT. A case in Pilot Experimental Schools in Greece Maria Gkountouma Maria Kouklatzidou [email protected] Rapid ICT development, globalized enterprising, common policies among countries along with a shift towards a knowledge-based economy have all made lifelong learning a necessity and a prerequisite of contemporary global labor market. Inevitably, lifelong learning has infiltrated education, since the ever-changing global context expects teaching professionals to be constantly up-to-date. Teachers are in need of lifelong learning so as to avoid professional downgrading, remain up-to-date, claim financial benefits and develop their personal and social skills. Evidently, a professional’s motives of participation in lifelong learning may range significantly, from inner self-actualization needs and ambition to peer-pressure and professional recognition. According to the Pedagogical Institute (2009), the benefits and positive outcome of further teacher-training is evident not only in the teachers themselves but also in society, as the quality of education and the educational system’s standards have been highly improved. Still, the lack of a systematic, well-organized, broadly disseminated teacher training is noticeable. The Pedagogical Institute (2009) eloquently detected some shortcomings, among others; lack of continuity, lack of a well-structured teacher training plan, overlapping of responsibilities, organizational shortcomings, full ignorance of the teachers’ needs centralism and lack of credibility and adequacy of the teacher training providers. Furthermore, the lack of free time, family responsibilities, professional frustration, training costs, inadequate access to information on available trainings or limited seat availability, all deter teachers from participating in teachertrainings. In this context, a distance education teacher training program for professionals working in Pilot Experimental Schools around Greece was designed, implemented and evaluated. The aim of the program was to train teachers in using ICT tools in their classes effectively, to promote collaborative work in virtual environments and to bring about a positive shift towards ICT and lifelong learning. The program was conducted on a weekly basis, in modules, supported by Open e-class, a GUnet LM.S. Participation in the program required designing and implementing various activities, according to preset learning goals. Participants were evaluated in various stages. Initially a needs assessment was conducted, which partly formed the finalized material and goals set. Throughout the program, participants carried out numerous activities whilst in the end of the program they filled-in an online form, which required a critical reflection of their participation. Conclusively, this paper encompasses the teacher training program profile, goals, methodology and outcomes, aiming to become an alternative training proposal for all teachers interested in ICT use in the classroom. Keywords: teacher training, distance learning, Pilot Experimental Schools, ICT 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 127 Implementing and Evaluating a Teacher Education Program On Fostering SelfRegulated Learning Maria Kriekouki Irini Dermitzaki [email protected] Past research has shown that self-regulated learning (SRL) skills promote effective studying and learning. However, students need instructional support for SRL and teachers should be able to foster active strategic learning and SRL skills. There is a need for further documentation on respective education practices in order to better support teachers to bring SRL in the classroom. The aim of the present study was to train elementary school teachers in a SRL skills instruction program and to support them in the implementation of the program in the classroom. The program lasts 14 school hours and aims at training students’ in applying text comprehension strategies, such as text orientation, self-questioning, and summarization, but also metacognitive skills, such as planning, self-monitoring and self-evaluation. Three female teachers and their 5th and 6th grade classrooms (N=53 students) participated in the study. The project lasted two school years. During the first year, the participant teachers observed the program implementation by the researchers and they participated in educational and training meetings before, during, and after this observation phase. The teachers also attended an introductory workshop on principles and practices of socio-cognitive approach of self-regulated learning process. At the second school year, the teachers applied in their classrooms the instructional program. In order to evaluate the program’s implementation both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. An observation form was filled in by the researchers for every teacher and every instructional unit separately. Moreover, notes and comments regarding the online program implementation were also collected by the researchers. The results showed that, overall, the participant teachers met the units’ defined goals and exploited the recommended discussion key points and the suggested material. The management of time with regard to achieving the instructional goals of each unit was relatively adequate. The teachers effectively taught cognitive skills to their students in order to support reading comprehension. However, the teachers needed further support to foster students’ metacognitive skills and to promote independent, autonomous, less teacher-regulated learning. After the teacher implementation phase, the intervention program was further updated and improved as regards its better adaptation to the classroom conditions. Teachers’ experience from the program implementation as recorded by semi-structured interviews will also be presented. The findings will be discussed with reference to teachers’ training in promoting SRL in the classroom. Keywords: self-regulated learning, teacher training, metacognitive skills 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 128 Teachers' Professional Development in Greece: An Open and Flexible Learning Environment or AaConfined and Rigid Education System? Maria Papadopoulou George Bagakis [email protected] Contemporary education is facing a new challenge adapting to the "economy of knowledge", which means that teachers are obliged to respond to the newly formed, open and flexible learning environment in which they are required to initiate not only their students but also themselves. Therefore, the developments in education policy which have been observed in Greece over the last few decades constitute a part of wider reforms of educational goals and practices (both global and European) which exert intense pressure on national education policies. This study researches the educational environment that is emerging in the field of secondary education in Greece with a view to enhancing the life-long professional development of teachers. Specifically, this study records and examines the teacher training opportunities which have been publicized in schools, sent via email over a period of six months (analysis of 526 emails) as well as researching the bodies responsible for conducting the training, the recipients of the training, the various forms of training, the content, the methods used, the course length, certification provided, funding, the type of learning and the extent of each course's dependency on the Ministry of Education. In order to facilitate this study, it was necessary to adopt and implement the method of content analysis. Not only lexical but also thematic and semantic content analyses were used, in addition to inductive methods, examining from more specific cases to more general findings. According to the findings of the study, it can be ascertained that teachers are being required to handle a new learning environment which is open, flexible and multiform as well as autonomous and decentralized, functioning in accordance with the laws of the free-market by providing a wealth of goods from which each teacher is obliged to choose depending on his/her specific needs or preferences. The main characteristics of this new environment are; a personalized approach to learning, programs of short duration in order to address the new and continually increasing demands of the market, autonomy and decentralization with regard to the choice of organizations and programs, diminishing state involvement, an increase in programs regarding general topics and skills and a simultaneous decrease in the use of specialized scientific knowledge coupled with the widespread application of unconventional and atypical forms of learning in the field of formal education. All these factors are leading to a redefinition not only of teachers' professional identity but also their working conditions. Keywords: life-long professional development, open and flexible learning environment, autonomy, professional identity 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 129 Transforming Teacher Education Paradigm: A Reflective and Collaborative Approach Maria Sakellariou Eugenia Arvanitis [email protected] International research over the last decades (Gulamhussein, 2013; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993; Darling-Hammond, 1993; Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; Fishman & McCarthy, 2000; Hargreaves, 1994; McLaughlin & Talbert, 1993; Yoon et al., 2007), affirms that the traditional training model of teachers must give way to the creation of interactive, collaborative and reflective professional learning communities, where teachers not only consume, but produce knowledge in a collective way. Collaborative professional learning is regarded as an important factor enabling teachers to function as members of a professional community and to construct a collective intelligence (Kalantzis & Cope, 2012) through the creation and sharing of knowledge and best practices, continuous feedback and reflection. It also can serve as a vehicle for educational transformation building on cultural diversity and the variety of perspectives and practices existing inside and outside of the school community (Arvanitis, 2013; Gulamhussein, 2013; Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; Yoon et al., 2007). Thus, changing the model of teachers’ education (initial or lifelong) is a profound challenge for universities. Learning by Design (Kalantzis and Cope, 2005) is a school based approach which considers professional learning as a collective responsibility. It also provides an epistemological framework for (future) teachers’ professional learning enabling them to act as designers of knowledge using transformational learning activities (Kalantzis, Cope & Arvanitis, 2010). (Prospective) Teachers make use of social networking technologies (see. http://cgleaner.com) to design, document, publish and share their pedagogical scenarios. They become significant actors in the learning process seeking synergies for learning through an ongoing dialogue, feedback and reflection with their own colleagues (Little, 1999; McRae et al. 2001; DET, 2005; van Harren, 2007; Arvanitis, 2011). This presentation will discuss the Learning by Design trial at tertiary level, namely during students’ practicum. A survey with more than 207 undergraduate students at the University of Ioannina was designed to evaluate the usefulness of Learning by Design in promoting peer and collaborative professional learning. Student views were recorded on questionnaires during two distinct phases of the action research (January 2015 & June 2015). The findings of the questionnaires were triangulated with individual reflective diaries and student performance records collected during practicum rounds in kindergartens of Ioannina. The survey results (analyzed with SPSS), showed that students transformed their views and became more confident with their multiple new roles. Both intermediate and final phase findings highlighted the usefulness of the approach in transforming traditional views and practices. Keywords: Collaborative professional learning, Learning by Design, Teacher education, Undergraduate student's practicum 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 130 Teachers’ Professional Development Contributing to a Qualitative Education Maria-Eleni Sachou Konstantinos Chatzidimou [email protected] Nowadays, due to the speedy scientific progress, teachers’ professional training is utterly mandatory. Both the new technologies introduced in the education field and the new perceptions formed make teachers’ professional development imperative for quality in education. The old model of the ‘wise’ teacher with the innate pedagogical talent is regarded as an obsolete perception in the field of education since the modern scientific concern requires a new role assumed by the teacher. Thus, nowadays, the teacher is considered to be a professional who should have special scientific knowledge and well psycho-pedagogical training. Teachers’ professional development begins in the first years of their studies and continues during their whole life. Teachers’ educational policy contributes to the teacher’s development since it defines the situation in which they work. Teachers’ training is considered particularly important as it enhances teacher’s existing academic and professional knowledge and suggests better ways to work and deal with problems. Training is a challenge procedure that aids, supports and offers opportunities to teachers’ professional development and to the quality of the educational system. It is mainly a function of teachers’ needs, identified by the previous basic education, their work and the educational system. Therefore, teachers’ training involves multiple training activities in order to cover the educational needs, which relate both to teachers’ personal and professional development and the quality of the educational system. This means that it is necessary to implement specific education policies which, in the context of a wider educational policy, promote teachers’ academic, professional and personal development. The current announcement will stress the need for the teacher’s professional development and its contribution to a qualitative education. Keywords: teacher's professional development, teacher's personal development, teacher's new role, qualitative education, educational policy, teacher's training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 131 Action Research as an Alternative Teacher Professional Development Approach Marianna Lepida Katerina Veniopoulou [email protected] This announcement refers to action research as an alternative teacher professional development approach. The first part focuses on teachers’ professionalism which arose as an important issue in 1980s and on the teachers’ professional development models which were formed during that period. Then, we present the basic characteristics and the process of action research in order to underline the essential role of teachers, who research and reconsider their own practice in classroom. We note that action research is based on a spiral process and the selfcriticism of teachers, a fact that is connected to and promotes teachers’ professional development. More specifically, this characteristic underlines the central role of teachers in action research, who should reflect on research questions and issues of their daily practice, analyze them and reshape their practice in order to solve the problems they face and improve their performance. That entails a certain epistemological stance on behalf of teachers, who should give emphasis on a firm theoretical background which will support their action. This stance will help teachers distance themselves from their practice, examine it objectively, understand and interpret it deeper. So, after this analysis, we present an example of the implementation of action research by an Austrian teacher. The case study refers to the work of Ines Morocutti concerning English language teaching at a secondary school in Austria. The teacher applied action research in her classroom and involved other teachers at her school during the formulation of research questions and the conduction of her research. We mainly refer to her research approach and the way she reflected on her practice during the action research in order to highlight the importance of this procedure to solve problems in the classroom. The main idea is to illustrate the way action research can be incorporated and affect teachers’ practice. So, at the end of our announcement, we discuss the relationship between teachers’ professional development and action research under the light of empirical evidence and underline the importance of action research at the daily practice of teachers. Moreover, we highlight the essential role of teachers as well as school to promote that particular research approach and set it as an important issue for further investigation. Keywords: action research, teacher professional development, teachers as researchers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 132 The Teacher's Role in the Digital Citizenship Formation in Kindergarten Marina Sounoglou Aikaterini Michalopoulou [email protected] Once children begin to visit the online world, it is necessary to do it safely and responsibly. The e-citizen is a functional point in everyone life. This research aims to study how teachers organize the daily program with activities in a digital frame in order to cultivate and shape the children’s views on the meaning of citizenship and how the notion of e-citizenship is formed. Previous researches say that the use of ICT in education is a real faction, so the cultivate of the e-citizenship is an essential factor in education. The school staff should emphasize the cultivation of digital citizenship and proactively implement a plan for integrating the digital age (Larson, Miller, Ribble, 2010). Ribble (2007, 2012) has also created a method for explaining and teaching the elements of digital citizenship through three concepts: "Respect, education and protection", starting as early as kindergarten: Starting with the concept of respect in ourselves and in others. Students need a clear understanding of what it means to be a digital citizen. The research methodology which used is the method of observation of 6 teachers in 6 classes of kindergarten about the ways of their teaching, how they develop the activities of the daily program and how they use the digital technology with the children. The outcomes of the research indicate that teachers did not use the digital frame because they did not have the necessary knowledge for use and handling. In contrast, children excelled in relation to the teachers because digital technology is their daily lives. Children are digital natives as mentioned by Ackerman (2014). A program of activities and guidelines have been proposed for teachers which will aim to better consolidate the characteristics of the concept of digital citizenship to kindergarten children to enable them to manage better their daily routine with concrete instructions to be better protected from malicious data the digital world and to judge the suitability of the software. Nurturing and shaping the notion of digital citizen, children have better control and autonomy, which give them guarantees for tomorrow role as citizens. For further analysis, we use bigger sample in order to have more specimen to analyze and have representative results to generalize them. Keywords: teacher education, digital citizenship, early childhood education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 133 Can Students’ Cognitive Level Be Assessed Through Project Method? Markia Stamidou Ioanna Pantelidi Venetia Kapachtsi [email protected] Students’ evaluation is an integral part of the learning process. The choice of the technical evaluation, the way of application, and the measuring instruments depend on predetermined objectives of education. Modern social, economic and political demands require the establishment of an effective evaluation system which, on the one hand, enhances students’ skills necessary for discovering other aspects of their personality and on the other hand, assesses students’ cognitive level as well. The purpose of this research is to investigate, whether the teacher, using the project method, can assess students’ cognitive level reliably and effectively. It is a complementary research to a previous one, called “students’ evaluation in secondary education through the project method”. In the earlier studies, different skills were evaluated through the project method, apart from the cognitive one. So, this research is a comparative one between students’ evaluation through project method and the teacher-centered teaching method. Data collection, for the evaluation of students of the third class of High School, was implemented by two teachers in 16 teaching hours in total, in four classes of 20 students each, in Eastern Thessaloniki. The project method was applied to two of the four classes in the unit “European Union” of the textbook of Social and Political Education, while in the two other classes, the unit was presented through the teacher- centered method of teaching. The students in all classes were evaluated through the same written assessment. After three weeks, in order to have more reliable research results, a second evaluation phase was held with a repetitive test. The grading scale of the tests was from 0- 20 based 10. In order to facilitate the interpretation of the results, a numerical scale was performed corresponding to a five descriptive scale. The results of the research were encouraging in the quantitative assessment of students’ performance. The teacher can assess students’ cognitive level, equally effectively, through an alternative teaching method as with the use of the traditional teaching method. Keywords: student evaluation, project method, cognitive level 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 134 "Webinar...From an Esop's Fables to Puppet Theater: A Distance Learning Method for the Teachers" Martha Mavridoy Evaggelia Nasta [email protected] This article presents a pilot action about the education of teachers through a distance learning method called “Webinar”. Werbinars or web – lectures are getting more and more ground in the field of education and in the general training of every scientific field, because every webinar is a lecture or a presentation which takes place in the global web though internet and there is the possibility for someone to interact from distance with the presenter or the presenters in real time. On the other hand, Aesop is known all over the world and his myths are often used in preschool and school education in a lot of educational fields. Based on these two data –webinars and Aesop’s fables- this article shall present the process of teachers trained through a webinar about Aesop’s myths in puppet theater, which comprises a very important issue in pre-school education. However, teachers do not have the needed training. This action is taking place in collaboration with Aitoloakarnania’s scholar consultant and all the trainees will be called after the end of the web-lecture to answer an e-questionnaire about their experience from this particular webinar. Keywords: Webinar, Web-Lecture, Aesop, Puppet Theater, Education, Education of teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 135 The Consequences of Poverty in Greek Primary School: The Role of the Counselor Melpomeni Christou [email protected] The purpose of this paper is to present the effects of poverty in Greek education and especially in primary school, which will include the exploited official figures relating to the situation in Greek schools on child poverty. At the same time, attempting through this work, to showcase the work and duties of school counselors, to me this way conceal the possible ways through which they may contribute with their work in tackling social phenomenon of poverty in primary schools. Poverty is a social phenomenon that now appears in every part of the world. Depending on where poverty occurs, i.e. in developed or developing countries, imparted a different approach (relative -absolute). In the case of the study of child poverty, the child is not considered as a unit, as in the case of an adult, but always within the context that surrounds it, namely his family and his school. The relationship between poverty and education is a relationship of interaction and complementarity: Poverty reduces the opportunities for access to education, and on the other hand, education is one of the main mechanisms by which it is possible for one to escape from the situation of poverty. This situation creates the following difficulty; the pupil from a poor family unable to proceed with the educational levels, which prevents both emerge from the situation of poverty. The social phenomenon of poverty is a persistent problem that concerns the world and its effects are visible in the living standards of families and their children. The issue of poverty in relation to children and the impact it has on their lives, has occupied a number of scholars for decades, as more research studying poverty rates which are per family. However, investigations have dealt with the procedures by which poverty impacts on children's education is extremely limited. This lack of research probably due to the minimal importance attributed to indirect effects can have poverty on education and children's lives. This brings up the relationship between education and social exclusion and poverty as well as, at the same time, the dimensions of child poverty so as recorded by international organizations and its impact on education with particular reference to the institution of the school counselor, his duties at the primary level and finally its contribution to tackling the phenomenon of child poverty in schools. Keywords: poverty, child poverty, social exclusion, education, role of the school counselor 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 136 Perceptions and attitudes of students of the Annual Programme of Pedagogical Training in the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education Michael Georgiadis Andreas OiKonomou [email protected] The aim of this paper is to explore the perceptions and attitudes of students of the Annual Programme of Pedagogical Training (APPT) in the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE) in Thessaloniki concerning the structure and content of the curriculum attended during the academic year 2014-2015. To achieve the aim of the study, a qualitative research was conducted in which semi structured interview was used as a tool for collecting the relevant data. The interview of this type was chosen as it allowed the collection of quality data and for processing the data a qualitative content analysis was used. Data was collected from a random sample of 30 students, while the questions posed in this study referred to the expectations of students concerning the curriculum, at the start of the course, their view on the components of the curriculum, at the end of the course, and suggestions from the students, as candidate teachers, for the improvement of their educational program. Finally, an attempt is made to interpret the perceptions of students about the topic under inquiry. The research conducted in this paper follows a previous one, on the same topic, which took place during the academic year 2010-2011. As the way of selecting candidate teacher-student for attending the ASPETE course has changed since then and admission to the School depends on the lottery results conducted for this purpose, the paper has a comparative dimension additionally, that is a part of the paper concerns the correlation of the results of this research with the results of the previous, when the student selection based on their academic qualifications. The conclusions drawn from the overall survey will feed in with new information on scientific research in the field of teacher education, but they can also be used in reconstructing the corresponding curricula. In the educational system of Greece the teacher training sector is in a transitional phase of restructuring partly due to the economic crisis. The results of this research could contribute to a restructuring based mainly on qualitative-pedagogical standards. Keywords: Teacher Training and Education, Teacher Training and Education Curriculum, Theory and Practice components in Teacher Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 137 Teacher Educators, Student Teachers and Quality in Teacher Education Michael Kamoudis [email protected] The overriding aim of this presentation is to examine teacher education (TE) for school teachers in the light of current educational needs and challenges, with main emphasis on a deeper understanding of teacher preparation in higher education, the centrality of role of teacher educators, and the attitudes/dispositions of student teachers towards their TE program. The presentation highlights: 1) a theoretical framework of contemporary TE according to which TE is conceived as identity construction, viewed not as a static event but rather as a process which involves a personal, a professional and an environmental dimension. Under this perspective, for example, teacher educators can become aware of how their practices in TE value or devalue learning and teaching, while student teachers can approach education issues as a collaborative and shared commitment. 2) Preliminary findings from an ongoing PhD research study based on interviews with 4th year student teachers in a Greek pedagogical department for primary school teachers as well as teacher educators working there. The qualitative analysis of interviews follows the process of modifying categories and statements about particular themes and drawing conclusions by comparing within-case and across-case themes. The preliminary findings underline inter alia the importance of reflection and dialogue in TE, the need for teacher educators and their student teachers to articulate their academic experiences, their personal expectations and educational vision for clearly defined outcomes that could be used to judge and ensure the overall quality of TE, which ultimately will strengthen the professional identity of the teacher community. Keywords: Teacher education; Teacher educator; Student teacher; Quality; Reflection; Attitudes; Dispositions. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 138 Faces of Facebook in Teacher Training Michele Horowitz Esty Doron Sivan Sarid [email protected] Facebook celebrates its eleventh anniversary of existence this year (2015). Yet, there is a modicum of research devoted to its educational endeavors, and even less when that field is narrowed down to pre-service teachers in training. Two Facebook groups were created to accompany two separate groups of elementary school pre-service students – one group studying to be Hebrew literature teachers and the other teachers of English as a foreign language. The aim of this exploratory research is to determine the contribution of these two Facebook groups. Questions concerning the content raised by the groups, the processes the group participants underwent while being part of the group, and the contribution of a closed Facebook group, as perceived by the participants during their own training, were examined. The research methodology used in this study is both qualitative and quantitative allowing a statistical picture of the phenomenon on one hand, as well as an in-depth informative narrative on the other. 58 participants took part in this research voluntarily. The results indicated a high volume of participation in both groups, although the Hebrew group was more active than the English one. In depth analysis and subsequent tapering of the content resulted in the establishment of four main categories; subject matter, general education, parent-child relationships, and social issues being established. Marked discrepancies became evident particularly regarding the content and initiator of statuses for each group. Future implications of this study indicate that despite the different manifestations and management methods, different populations will find that a closed Facebook group has the potential to be an important tool and asset in teacher training. Keywords: Facebook; teacher training; pre-service; elementary school 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 139 Guidelines to Support the Development of Children’s Drawing Abilities in Education Monica de Chiro Paola Nicolini [email protected] The main objective of the research is to create guidelines for teachers, educators and parents to support development of children’s drawing ability. Drawing ability requires the development of a complex series of skills such as fine-motor, cognitive, creative, visual, perceptual and affective skills. It is necessary to support children’s development using an approach that leverages awareness of the different phases of children’s development. The research study began in January 2014 with desk research on different authors who had investigated children’s drawing development. These authors included H. Luquet, V. Lowenfeld, W.L. Brittain, H. Gardner, O. Ferraris, G. Pinto, A.S. Bombi, R. Quaglia, C. Longobardi. The study then progressed with the tuning of an experimental method developed to observe children’s interaction with various playful drawing assignments. The experimental phase was conducted in collaboration with different level of schools between February and March 2015, preceded by a research study monitoring sample’s conduct in January 2015. The sample included children of 18 months to 7 years old, attending nursery, infant and primary schools. The observation, survey and analysis of data allowed identification of guidelines considered useful in supporting children’s drawing abilities and stimulation of their creativity. Keywords: drawing, fine-motor skills, education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 140 Need for Teacher Development through Improving Quality of Question Papers of BISE in Pakistan Muhammad Saeed Afshan Naseem [email protected] The role of teachers is pivotal in the process of Teacher Education (TE) in any country. One of the salient determinants of effective TE is the quality of assessment and examination practices. In Pakistan, like many other countries, along with formative classroom assessment techniques, public examinations at secondary school level are quite popular. In Pakistan, these exams are conducted annually by the divisional ‘Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education’ (BISE) from. The purpose of this study was to investigate how far the Mathematics question papers for grade 9 and 10 truly assess the students’ lower (knowledge and comprehension) and higher cognitive abilities (application and analysis), as described by Bloom (1956) and basic test construction rules available in literature. The sample was the question papers in the subject of mathematics at secondary level for the two school years 2012 and 2013. It was found that question papers largely assess students’ knowledge and comprehension; a few items can assess application and analysis ability. Since the cognitive abilities of synthesis and evaluation were not desired to assess in the national curriculum (2006) of mathematics, so these were not ignored. Overall the proportion of lower and higher cognitive abilities was 75% and 25% respectively which reveals that there was less emphasis on assessing students’ problem solving and analytical skills. The study suggests intensive training for teachers in test item construction, especially those involved in developing question papers for BISE. They should be equipped with the scientific procedure of developing papers, i.e. thorough understanding of curriculum, textbook/s and adequate skill of developing table of specification. Keywords: Teacher development, Test item construction, Mathematics question papers, BISE. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 141 An Evaluation of the Professional Development System for Teachers in the Double Shift Teaching Dispensation Muhammadi Bisaso Ssali [email protected] Improving education is often regarded as a priority for developing countries in order to promote long term economic development. Thus initiatives, both government and foreign-aid sponsored, aimed at improving education in developing countries abound. However, all too often the focus of such initiatives is limited to the development of new educational ideas, while the details of how the innovations will be implemented at school level are often neglected. This conceptual paper represents an effort to lay the groundwork for analyzing implementation of the double shift teaching system with particular reference to Uganda and teachers in particular. The paper draws on school development, educational change, and pedagogical literature in order to develop three major constructs upon which the double shift teaching approach as an educational innovation is built namely, Profile of Implementation, Capacity to Support Innovation, and Outside Support. It is being claimed that the education system is born of complexity that all learners cannot be absorbed within the available schools at ago. This pressure leads to a need for alternatives and the double shift system comes in handy to play a critical role in solving this complex jig-saw. However, what remains challenging is the nature of preparation, in form of professional development accorded to the teachers in order to perfect their work in the new system. This is premised on the view that with a double shift system, most of the elements of the teaching/learning processes, if not all, are bound to change which puts pressure on the shoulders of teachers. Teachers have to re-invent the wheel and teach in ways that they were not taught. This explains why the Teacher Development Management Systems (TDMS) and the Teacher Education Materials Development Program (TEMDEP) were conceived in the first place. The paper, therefore, will seek to explore, from a purely objective perspective, and in the context of a resource-constrained country like Uganda, the nature of professional development coupled with outside support that teachers undergo in the event of a double shift teaching system in schools, which is largely conceived as a sine-qua-non if teachers are to be able to contribute to effective implementation of the program, and support plausible innovations thereto. It is widely believed that such professional development would catapult the teaching/learning processes to greater heights within the double shift teaching dispensation lest the education system becomes lukewarm, ineffective and a looming failure. Keywords: Teachers, Double Shift, Education System, Implementation, Management, Supervision, Complexity, Professional Development Innovation, 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 142 Effectiveness of Turkish Teaching Program for Foreigners Mustafa Durmuşçelebi [email protected] There have occurred rapid changes over the world together with the 21st century. As a result of these developments, language teaching also has started to gain a special importance in the science world. On the one hand, the efforts to generate a world language, on the other hand, the efforts to make its mother language learnt as a foreign language… The aim of this study is to determine the difficulties that the foreigners encounter while learning Turkish as a foreign language. The universe of this survey model study consists of the foreign students studying in Kayseri in the Fall Term of 2014-2015 Educational Year. In the research into which students from 53 countries participated, two equipments were in use to evaluate the programs; that are the survey and the preliminary-final test. At the end of the research, the students stated that they could almost do the basic and middle level (a1,a2 and b1) behaviors necessary for the four basic skills. As the level of the skill increases, the success rate of the student’s decreases. Also, while the listening skill is the easiest one that learners could succeed, writing and reading skills stands out as the area that the learners have difficulty in succeeding. In the research, one striking point also is the absence of a specific language instruction program that is applied. Those that are related with the language teaching especially the relevant institutions of the state and the Turkish Language Departments of the Universities should immediately pay attention to the development of language teaching programs. Those should give place to many implicit programs such as learning environments, excursions and art activities so that the learners can improve their ability to speak in a natural way. There is a requirement for more applied researches in the area, preparation of lesson tools and lesson books in accordance with the needs. Keywords: Turkish teaching (instruction), foreign language teaching, the Turkish according to foreigners. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 143 The Impact of Student Teaching Practice on the Effectiveness of New Teachers Mustafa Özcan Hürriyet Alataş [email protected] The question of how to raise the academic success of students is the major concern of educators. On this research, we focused on the impact of teaching practice on the effectiveness of new teachers. Research shows that many new teachers are experiencing pedagogical, relational and psychological problems. The purpose of this research is to identify the problems that new teachers experience and propose solutions for them. We think that if there is a well prepared teacher for the profession in a class, success is very likely there. To be a competent teacher a teacher candidate should spend much more time under the supervision of mentor teachers and clinical faculty of education. In colleges of education in Turkey, teacher candidates don’t have enough opportunity to practice in a K12 school. Consequently, they graduate from university with insufficient experience and practice which lead to some problems in the profession. We implemented a survey with open-ended questions to 187 teachers in Istanbul and Van. First, we asked them how much time they spent in a K12 classroom and how many times they had the opportunity to teach to real students. Majority of teachers stated that they taught less than 10 hours, and the teaching practice courses could not prepare them for teaching profession. They stated that they needed more practice courses during the college years. Second, we asked them which difficulties they faced in their first years of the profession. Mostly, they stated that they had difficulty in communication with students and parents whose cultural background were different from theirs. Additionally, they stated that class management was another challenge for them in their first years. When they asked about their attitude towards their job, most of them asserted that in their first years they wanted to quit the job, but as they knew they couldn’t find a better job, they reluctantly continued teaching. Lastly, we asked the teachers if they had any guidance from their principal and/or mentor teacher. According to the answers, the principal and/or mentor teacher helped them when they had problems, but not always. As we can see, teachers have problems in their first years of the profession because of the insufficiency of classroom-teaching practice. In order to solve this problem, we propose a model in which 50% of teacher education is university-based and 50% of school based. Keywords: student teacher, teaching practice 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 144 Parents’ Guidance Needs and Resources during the Identification Procedures for Gifted and Talented Children in Şanlıurfa Nagihan Oğuz Duran Arif Belur [email protected] The purpose of this study is to investigate the guidance needs and resources of parents whose children participated in the identification procedures for the gifted and talented children, and as a result accepted or not accepted to Şanlıurfa Science and Art Center (BİLSEM) in Şanlıurfa/Turkey. With this purpose, a four-part (demographical questions, children related questions, parents’ guidance needs and sources questions, parents’ guidance experiences questions) survey was developed by the researchers. This survey was given to a total of 261 parents whose children were accepted (n=28) or not accepted (n=233) to Şanlıurfa BİLSEM at 2011-2012 academic year. Regarding the socio-demographic findings, 56% of the participants were composed of fathers, and 44% composed of mothers. More than half of the parents are in an age range of 36-45. Nearly half of them have undergraduate degrees (51%), and about a quarter of them are high school graduates (26%). The parents of children accepted to BİLSEM are more educated; they have higher income and have fewer children than parents of children not accepted to BİLSEM. In terms of the questions on parents’ guidance needs, sources and experiences, the results indicated that classroom teachers of children were the most benefitted resource of guidance for both two groups of parents (whose children were accepted-not accepted to BİLSEM) in all stages of the process (“application”, “testing”, and” learning the final decision for the children” stages). The other mostly benefited resources for parents whose children were accepted to BİLSEM were BİLSEM (39.3%) and school administration (39.3%). For the second group of parents, these resources changed with friends (28.6%) and family members (24.7%). When parents asked the most benefited guidance resource in general (except the identification process), once more classroom teachers reported as the primary resource for both groups of parents. Results regarding the guidance needs of parents indicated no significant effect of Children’s acceptance status on parent reported academic, social, and psychological/emotional problems of their children, and the opportunities provided by the families. Additionally, the majority of parents (86%) stated that they did not benefit from any school counseling and guidance services. Getting help from guidance sources outside of school was also quite rare among parents. Parents who used school counseling services or the services of other experts reported that assistance as insufficient. Keywords: Gifted and talented children, Science and Art Center (BİLSEM), parents, classroom teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 145 An Investigation of the Perceptions of Elementary School Students about “Democracy” Concept through Metaphors Nazli Gezgin Türkay Nuri Tok [email protected] Metaphor, the Greek word meaning transfer, has appeared throughout the ages in stories designed to elicit growth or change, including biblical parables, myths, legends, and fairy tales (Campbell, 1988). Since the early 1970s, metaphor has become of increasing interest to many disciplines. Metaphor, the subject of this research, is to apply something to a different thing and define by acting from a thing that has the similar qualities (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 2004). The English word “metaphor” which is used for different concepts like metaphor and imitation in Turkish has become one of the most important data collection methods in qualitative researches lately. This study aims to identify the way elementary school students’ view about democracy concept and the sources that affect their present perceptions and the following questions are aimed to be answered: 1) which means of metaphors do the elementary school students use to explain their existent perception about the term “democracy”? 2) Under which class can the metaphors of elementary school students regarding the term “democracy” be categorized? 3) Do the metaphors used by elementary school students regarding the term “democracy” make any difference according to their level of class? 4) Do the metaphors of elementary school students about democracy make any difference according to their gender? 5) What are the factors effecting the point of views of elementary school students about democracy? A total of 84 students, 37 girls and 47 boys have participated in this research who were 6th 7th and 8th grade students. Within this scope, the students who participated in the study were asked to fill in the open ended questionnaire composed of three parts which would demonstrate what they associated the concept of democracy with and why they did this association. This study was designed with a phenomenology approach which is one of the qualitative research methods. The participants in the study were chosen with the method of availability sampling. Qualitative research design will be used in data collection process and the process of analysis and evaluation of the developed metaphors will consist of four stages: (1) Naming, coding and eliminating stage, (2) Theme development stage, (3) Validity and reliability enabling stage, (4) Reporting stage. The analysis of the study is still in the process. Therefore, the finding, results and discussion sections haven’t been completed yet. Keywords: Democracy, Metaphor, Elementary Students 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 146 The Views of the Academic Members about the Role and Contributions of Scientific Researches and Academic Activities on Teacher Education Nidan Oyman [email protected] Universities and academic members working in these institutions have three main tasks: These tasks are education, scientific research and social benefit. The faculties of education have the primary duty as teacher training, as well as those tasks. In this context, it has been considered important to determine how these institutions and academic members who are responsible for teacher training and teacher education contribute to teacher education through their scientific researches, apart from their education curriculum. The purpose of this research is to find out the role of educational activities performed in faculties of education and academic members’ scientific researches in teacher education. Additionally, it is additionally the aim of this study to reveal the views of academic members in terms of what should be done for improving the effectiveness of the research and activities with regard to teacher education. The participants of the study are 20 academic members from four different universities taking place in the central region of Turkey. In this research, case study design which is one of the qualitative research methods has been used and semi-structured interviews have been conducted to obtain the data. For analyzing the views of the academic members, content analysis technique has been used. The findings concerning the role and contributions of scientific researches in teacher education will be presented as frequency tables. Several proposals about what kind of arrangements should be made in order to increase the effectiveness of these researches in teacher education will be put forth by the researcher taking into consideration the findings. Keywords: Scientific research, academic activities, academic member, teacher education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 147 Transitional School-Based Program of Teachers' Professional Development in Greece: The role of the Teachers' School Association and the School Advisor Nikolaos Graikos [email protected] The issue of teachers' professional development is one of the most difficult problems of the Greek educational system. Despite of the many efforts that have been made by the Greek State to train the teachers over the last twenty years, the results have not been quite satisfactory. The main disadvantage of these centrally planned programs is that they do not take into account the real needs of the teachers. However, the educational conditions in Greece are not ripe for fully participatory training models. According to the educational legislation, Greek teachers are not entitled to adequate training time. In addition, because of the past wrong programs they have not acquired the necessary training culture. Therefore, the teachers' professional development proposals that we analyze in this article, have a transitional character, combining international bibliographic standards and the realistic capabilities of the Greek educational system. The main features of our proposals are the establishment of school-focused educational communities of practice, which are based on the close cooperation of the teachers with the School Advisor under real school and classroom conditions. In our presentation we talk about the educational principles on which our proposals are based, the goals and the stages of our training procedures and the debate about their effectiveness. Keywords: teachers' professional development, communities of practice, Greek educational system, School Advisor 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 148 Students’ Misconceptions in Telecommunications Nikolaos Voudoukis Gerasimos Pagiatakis [email protected] The present study focuses on the discussion and analysis of students’ misconceptions within the telecommunications module taught at the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE). The “Telecommunication Systems” course, as taught at ASPETE, introduces students to the principles and techniques of telecommunications and addresses topics such as basic concepts, signals and Fourier analysis, AM and FM modulation and transceivers, Pulse Code Modulation (PCM), and digital modulation techniques. The misconceptions, as were demonstrated in the exam papers of one hundred seventy two (172) students, who attended the course during the last two autumn semesters 2013-14 and 2014-15 (in both, the theoretical and the lab part of the course) were gathered, evaluated and analyzed. We observed that most of the students’ difficulties and misconceptions were due the lack of a proper background in mathematics and physics. For example, we noticed that some students had difficulties in understanding Fourier analysis which, in turn, prevented them from dealing with modulation and transmission techniques in a unified and scientifically sound manner. Other misconceptions were caused by the lack of a well-structured overview of the overall telecommunications subject (and the interrelations between the various telecommunication topics) though such an overview had been briefly presented during the first lecture of the course. On the other hand, awareness of possible misconceptions in telecommunications is expected to help future teachers to achieve a better understanding of the telecommunication subject and deliver telecommunications principles to their audience in a more efficient and comprehensible way. Keywords: engineering misconceptions education, teacher education, telecommunications teaching, 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 149 In Service Education on ICT: Characteristics, Goals and Ambitions of Participating Teachers Nikolaos Yfantopoulos [email protected] Antigoni-Alba Papakonstantinou Anastasios Emvalotis In response to teachers' constant demands and taking under consideration results from scientific research regarding in service education of primary teachers, the Institute of Educational Research and Studies launched a series of free of charge seminars addressed to teachers of Epirus, West Macedonia and Thessaly. The main aim of these seminars was to provide teachers with knowledge and skills that would help them to effectively respond to social, educational and didactic changes. A number of topics were proposed and groups were formed in several cities according to the teachers' choices. The present study focuses on the profile of teachers who chose to follow the seminars on Information and Communication Technologies. More specifically, our goal can be considered to be dual: On the one hand, we will try to investigate the characteristics of teachers who choose to receive in service education on ICT. On the other hand, we will examine the reasons that lead to this choice, as well as their plans and initiatives concerning introduction of ICT in their courses. Thus, we decided to follow a quantitative approach and created a questionnaire that was distributed to all teachers participating in ICT seminars. In fact, more than 100 questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Preliminary results reveal the profile of participating teachers who are mainly 40-50 years old, with more than 15 years of working experience and just basic knowledge on ICT, even though several of them have attended similar in service seminars in the past. As the analysis of the answers reveals, the teachers recognize the importance of ICT in the education process and wish to acquire more practical knowledge on specific software applications. They would like to receive training in programs that would facilitate their teaching, learn how to use the technical equipment offered in schools, as well as enhance their social media skills. Their intention is to establish the use of ICT in their everyday teaching and transfer the obtained knowledge to their students. Keywords: in service education, ICT, primary school teachers 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 150 Surveying Information and Communication Technology Skills and Perceptions of Greek Student Teachers: The Results of a Small Scale Study Nikoletta Avgerinou Maria Giakoumi Aikaterini Kyriakoreizi [email protected] Helen Drenoyianni Over the past 20 years, it has become evident that ICT represents an indispensable component of the initial teacher education program of studies. The nature and the form of ICT inclusion is variable across countries and dependent upon a range of factors, but many teacher preparation programs are still struggling to achieve a balance between the pedagogical use of ICT tools and the development of ICT skills. Research indicates that technical proficiency is not sufficient for using ICT as a pedagogical tool, yet lack of ICT skills may impede the employment of technology in a learning context and inhibit classroom use of ICT. On the other hand, nearly all European and OECD countries have included ICT as an integral part of their secondary school curriculum, rendering the development of ICT skills a requirement and a responsibility of compulsory education. Nevertheless and despite these initiatives, it appears that students’ level of ICT competence is still considerably variable, while many may not be adequately fluent in ICT. Within this framework, the study reported here aims at examining Greek student teachers’ ICT skills, as well as their perceptions on the use of ICT on their entry to a primary teacher education program offered by a Greek university. Student teachers’ skills and perceptions were surveyed through the administration of a questionnaire. 128 student teachers have participated in the study, and the questionnaire used consisted of 17 questions. Five of them collected background information (gender, self-rated ICT competence, sources of ICT skills acquirement, comments on school courses and the use of ICT in teaching), while the remaining 12 represented test items, concerned with basic ICT skills. Test items were mainly compiled using the current secondary education syllabi and textbooks and consisted of a range of questions grouped into five main categories; word processing, spreadsheets, presentation software, email use and information seeking. The analysis of the data collected illustrated a rather gloomy picture with respect to ICT competence. Almost 50% of student teachers report themselves as good or average users of ICT and 47% perceive their level of ICT use as very good or excellent. However, the average total score of all participants in the test items administered was 22.46/40 (min= 5, max=37), indicating a moderate performance, contradictory to their self-perceptions. Students’ performance was far better in the cases of word processing and email use, particularly low in spreadsheets and presentation software, and average on information seeking test items. Furthermore, all students (100%) reported that they have attended ICT courses during their secondary school studies. However, 78% comment that their skills in ICT were acquired out of school and 76% characterized secondary ICT school courses as inadequate, making negative remarks on the theoretical content of the school courses and a variety of classroom management and course organization problems. The study’s results are discussed in the light of relevant national and contemporary international literature concerned with student teachers’ ICT competence and the quality of school courses on ICT, while their implications are considered with respect to the appropriate model of ICT incorporation in an increasingly overloaded and demanding teacher education program. Keywords: ICT Skills, ICT Literacy, Teacher Education, Primary Education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 151 How Capable Turkish Elementary Teachers are In Implementing Multiple Intelligence Theory in Social Studies: A Qualitative Research Nurcan Şener Yücel Kabapınar M. Cihangir Doğan [email protected] It was generally aimed in this study to investigate learning environments of the teachers respect to multiple intelligence applications. The study was designed based on qualitative research model and according to objectives of the research, qualitative data collection techniques were employed. To identify the use of Multiple Intelligence in teaching materials for Social Studies and Multiple Intelligence types, which were addressed in activities, 4 different textbook sets, 12 textbooks in total, among 4th grade of elementary school and 6th grade of secondary school textbooks, which were in the use in the academic year of 2012-2013 in elementary schools in Turkey with approval of the board of education and discipline were researched. Contents, activities, texts and figures in the books were identified one by one to find which of multiple intelligence types were aimed to be developed. According to the results from the document research, the most dominant intelligence activities in textbooks of Social Studies among primary and secondary multiple intelligence activities are logical intelligence activities. The most dominant one among primary multiple intelligence activities in students’ studying books is verbal intelligence while the most dominant one among secondary multiple intelligence activities is logical intelligence activities. The other hand, the researcher designed the “template of observation related to the use of multiple intelligence applications” to identify multiple intelligence applications of teachers in the course of Social Studies. According to the results from the observation template, during the lesson of teacher ÖĞR1, mostly musical intelligence was addressed in the primary (main) activity while mostly verbal intelligence was addressed in the secondary activity (question-answer). Considering average time in general during 15 hours of teaching process of ÖĞR1 related to the course of Social Studies based on types of the applied activities, 18 primary (main) activities took 6 minutes 31 seconds while 71 secondary (questionanswer) activities took 1 minute 13 seconds. During the lesson of ÖĞR2, activities mostly addressing verbal intelligence were performed in case of primary (main) activity while activities mostly addressing verbal intelligence were performed in case of secondary activity (questionanswer) again. Considering general time averages during 15 hours of teaching process of ÖĞR2 related to the course of Social Studies based on types of the applied activities, 10 primary (main) activities took 9 minutes 18 seconds while 59 secondary (question-answer) activities took 1 minute 48 seconds. Keywords: Social Studies, Multiple Intelligence Theory, Multiple Intelligence applications 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 152 Professional Standards for Teachers in a Universal Design for Learning Framework. Promoting a Data Literate and Reflective Teacher Culture in Greek Elementary Schools Olga Imellou Aris Charoupias [email protected] In order to raise achievement for all students in a Greek elementary school struggling to be inclusive (PL 4074/2012), teacher’s everyday practice in the classroom seems to balance between failure/frustration and success/satisfaction. Although initial teacher education of practicing professionals in inclusive pedagogy issues can be described as inadequate, attempts are being made towards empowering teachers through short term in-service training programs. These programs are mostly designed and implemented by school advisors who recognize the mismatch between initial teacher education and the requirements for the teacher in day-to-day classroom/school life. For teachers to be able to actively support students overcome the barriers to their learning they need to know how to design appealing and motivating classroom learning environments positive and supportive for all learners. They need to have certain attitudes, knowledge and skills, that form a set of professional standards essential for the implementation of a state-of-the-art framework, such as the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The adoption of a UDL-like framework allows teachers to acknowledge that every student has a unique baseline of attitudes, knowledge and skills that can be improved by their practices. For the teachers’ practices to be effective in a UDL-like framework, they should be formed within a data literate and reflective teacher culture in which every decision making in the classroom is informed by data about the assessment of students’ work and by reflection concerning the effectiveness of previous teaching practices. Finally, an example of an in-service training program is described. In this program, a school advisor collaborates actively, as designer and facilitator, with teachers that take responsibility for data collecting and for being reflective practitioners. The two-school-years program’s main goal is the promotion of teacher professional standards within a UDL-like framework with an emphasis on data and reflection. It involves teaching and learning writing skills and promoting student understanding in mathematics. Although the program is still in progress, provisional conclusions can be drawn for reflection concerning specific program characteristics, such as duration, pedagogy, etc., for such interventions to have a lasting positive impact that could support quality and accountability in Greek elementary schools. Keywords: inclusive school, school advisor, teacher culture, practices, data, reflection, professional standards, Universal Design for Learning 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 153 The Role of Head Teacher to Manage Conflicts at Kindergartens Olga Mpatsoula Glykeria Reppa Anastasia Intzevidou [email protected] The present research examines the phenomenon of conflict that concerns educators in kindergarten schools. In particular, it attempts to explore the factors of provoking in-school conflicts among kindergarten teachers and also to investigate the positive and negative consequences that may occur due to these conflicts. To examine the teachers’ attitudes towards conflict, the Everard and Morris (1999) model was used, with its five-fold way of coping with conflict; fighting, avoiding, smoothing, compromising, and problem solving. In addition, the research investigates the contribution of kindergarten teachers and head teachers’ demographic profile and also the influence of leader’s attitude towards the orientation of conflicts. As far as the investigation of the leadership style is concerned, the leadership behavior scale for the school principal (Hoy & Clover, 1986) was used. This specific scale distinguishes leadership style in three categories; the supportive, the directive and, finally, the restrictive style of leadership. The method used is a quantitative survey with self-report questionnaires, which were distributed to kinder garden teachers (East Thes/niki, West Thes/niki, Kastoria, Evoia). A sample of 139 teachers was obtained. The present investigation revealed the following results: The most important factor of conflict orientation is the “the problems’ solution”, there is no differentiation of the causes and effects of the conflicts, in terms of kindergarten teachers and kindergarten head teachers, the demographic characteristics play no role in attitude choice, and finally the supportive leadership style is chosen, which has a positive correlation with the attitudes of problems’ solution, the smoothing and the compromising. Keywords: conflict, attitudes towards conflict, leadership style, kindergarten teachers, schoolmasters 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece The Effect of Compensation Studies on Disadvantaged Children’s Self Concept Levels and Locus of Control Ömür Sadioğlu [email protected] Gönül Onur Sezer Self-concept is a general term used to refesr to how someone thinks about, evaluates himself/herself. One of the other important term about human pschology is locus of contol. Locus of control refers to the extent to which individuals believe they can control events affecting them. This study aims to state the self concept and the locus of control of the disadvantaged children. Disadvantaged children those who are in risk from various aspects. The prevention studies and programs are to prevent the occurrence of situations that can cause a risk for the children the future On the other hand compensation studies help forward to children who encounter risk factor and are affected negatively such as having behaviour problems, exhibit social disharmony. Compensation studies help her/him overcome this disharmony and behavioral problems etc. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the impact of compensation program which was hold as a University– Sector Cooperation Project “Be My Hope Project” between Uludag University Faculty of Education and Bursa Provincial Security Directorate’s Child Branch on disadvantaged children’s self concept levels and locus of control. The subjects of this study are 33 disadvantaged children (28 boys and 5 girls) who were selected after organizing interviews with counselors and directors of four schools decided by Bursa Provincial Security Directorate’s Child Branch. Teacher candidates from university organized study times for academic and social development of disadvantaged children groups. A questionnaire form of Piers Harris' self concept scale and Nowicki–Strickland Locus of Control Scale was completed by disadvantaged children in this study. Piers Harris' self concept scale which was adapted to Turkish by Öner (1996) ve Çataklı (1985) includes 80 questions. The reliability of scale changes between .78 - .93. The reliability of Turkish form changes between .81- .89. Nowicki–Strickland Locus of Control Scale adapted by Korkut (1986). This scale consist of 40 “yes” “no” questions. The analysis of this study is still underway. Keywords: Disadvantaged children, self concept, locus of control, compensation study, risk factor 154 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 155 Phenomenology and Grounded Theory: A Comparison in Terms of Some Features Oya Onat Kocabıyık [email protected] This study aims to compare phenomenology and grounded theory, which are in qualitative research methods, in respect of their some certain features and the reason why they are chosen in researches. It is stated that phenomenological analysis is the appropriate method that can be used in health, social, education and clinic psychological researches to point how the people perceive and understand the meaningful events in their lives (Smith and Eatough, 2007). Van Manen (1990; cited Miller, 2003) states in his phenomenology description as phenomenology is a human science and its purpose is to describe the meaning of phenomenon and understand the meanings of the experiences in the past. Grounded theory is described as a method that discovers the theories directly from data, notions, hypotheses and propositions. In the context of grounded theory, it is supposed that the process is examined and feeling the social life in the theoretical way, it is a process itself. In the concept of grounded theory, the exploration of the core category, which is grounded in a sense and revolving around the basic social process or all other categories, is examined and therefore, grounded theory is method to develop theory/theories that explains the reason of the behaviors (Flint, 2005). Phenomenology and grounded theory are seen as important qualitative research methods, and they are seen necessary to be addressed together. For this aim, in this article, phenomenology and grounded theory methods are examined and compared to each other. Keywords: Phenomen, Phenomenology, Grounded Theory 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 156 Environmental Influences in Communication of Greek Family: A Comparative Case Study Panagiotis J. Stamatis Athanasios Papanikolaou [email protected] In psychological approach communication is perceived as an interpersonal process during which a person who intends to transfer a message codes it either through speech or through body, or through both means and conveys it after having further enriched it with emotional, beyond cognitive, content. Thus, the psychological approach could be expressed in the definition: “Communication is every recognizable, conscious or unconscious, intentional or unintentional behavior through which a human, willingly or unwillingly influences the perceptions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and actions of others and vice versa with the aim of mutual understanding.” The institutional function of a family simultaneously accomplishes an emotional and a practical task so as to cover timelessly and successfully both the immediate functions and the biological needs of its members and their psychological quests. Family communication, in a verbal or a non-verbal level, sustains and reinforces the bonds among the family members ensuring timelessness in the family’s structure and cohesion, despite the constantly altering social environment. Family communication is of vital importance in the training of educators both for the child’s adjustment and its smooth procession through the educational levels, and for the satisfaction of its emotional needs. Hence, family communication does not only concern the narrow frames of the family environment but also the functions of the educational system, especially in the case that it reflects the levels of communication between school and family. Within this framework, the present research consists of a comparative case study of communicative behaviors in four-member families that live in the areas of the Greek mainland and islands. The aims of the study focus on the types and problems of communication that come to the surface, as well as on the differences that the non-verbal communication of the Greek family members presents according to their area of living (urban or island natural environment). The sample included common characteristics, in order to minimize any statistical contrasts. The methodological approach consists of semi-structured interviews with open questions, while answers were recorded both in writing and with voice recording devices. The concluding statements of this research compose a concrete image of the influence that the natural environment has on family communication, with positive effects on the quality of the nutrition, entertainment forms, management of unacceptable children behavior, and on the development of interpersonal relations amongst family members. Findings of this research relate to quality of school climate and consequently, to instructional effectiveness which interests teachers' education and training. Keywords: family communication, environmental communication, urban environment, insular environment education, teachers' education, 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 157 Soft Skills Identification for Guidance and Job Placement Paola Nicolini [email protected] Elisa Attili Valentina Corinaldi Monica De Chiro Cristina Formiconi Recognition, validation and certification of skills, especially those developed in nonformal and informal fields, is becoming a current topic for all educative institutions, including Universities. This paper represents a good practice of the University of Macerata (IT) in the sector of soft skills. ‘Soft skills’ is a psycho-sociological term relating to a cluster of personality traits, social abilities, communication, language, personal attitudes that characterize relationships with other people. Soft skills complement hard skills which are the occupational requirements of a job and many other activities. To design procedures aimed at the recognition, validation and certification of Soft skills through specific tasks. In Italy, the legal framework on recognition, validation and certification of skills are led by the Legislative Decree n. 13/13. According to the Decree, University should assure the effective implementation of lifelong learning, a strategic factor for individual fulfilment in work and for social aspects, through guidance and counselling services. Several tasks were tested in order to identify a set of activities useful to recognize soft skills such as observation, problem solving and communication in small group. Each skill was operationalized through the identification of specific indicators to recognize three level of expertise; basic, intermediate, advanced. Applying such kind of procedures at the secondary school can be important to support young students both in the field of guidance and job placement. Keywords: soft skills, lifelong learning, informal learning, non-formal learning, guidance, job placement. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 158 The Impact of New Technologies in Learning Processes: A Survey In A 2.0 Class Paola Nicolini pao [email protected] Idalisa Cingolani Magda Dabrowska Monica de Chiro Cristina Formiconi Michela Bomprezzi Valentina Corinaldi Federica Papa Throughout the last scholastic year, we have conducted a research monitoring a class of 11 to 12 years old students, using tablets within the teaching-learning daily interactions at school. The aim of the research was to understand the impact of such a technological device, both on the learning results and on indirect psycho-sociological variables such as motivation, self-representation, group dynamics, and use of new technologies in extra-school contexts. We monitored the above variables in two classes: The first class was considered the experimental group and the second was a control group. The two classes were chosen for their similarity while ensuring they were independent each other; the two classes were situated in the same area without direct connections, they had in part the same teachers, and they were constituted by an almost equal number of students. We planned an online data collection through questionnaires. The survey was conducted during two periods; at the beginning and at the end of the scholastic year. This provided us with data to measure potential changes and developments in the variables we considered within the two classes. At the beginning of the scholastic year, the control group appeared to have advantages in each of the variables considered. At the end of the scholastic year, however, the experimental group had better results. This means that the class using tablets grew more than the control group. In fact, at the second survey, the students of the experimental class showed; a greater motivation to learn, a larger positive development in their selfrepresentations, a deeper and more complex dynamics of peer's interaction within the class, and a more frequent use of new technologies in extra-scholastic contexts. Our research shows a positive impact both on learning results and on the personal development of the monitored students. The consequence of our findings on teachers is that it is urgent to train them in the correct use of technological devices within the teaching-learning interactions. We are not merely referring to the introduction of a new tool, moreover to a deep change in the role of teachers, no longer thought as a dispenser of information, but as a cultural mediator. Keywords: learning technologies, learning strategies, teaching strategies, learning and web, 2.0 generation, hypermedia in education. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 159 Early Childhood Teachers’ Didactical Approaches in Science Teaching and Their Comparison with Curriculum Guidelines Paraskevi Kavalari Domna-Mika Kakana [email protected] The present research is motivated by the concern that teachers often resist changing their role in the classroom, resulting in a significant inconsistency between the official curriculum and the applied curriculum. When it comes to Greek early childhood education, a number of adjustments during the last 25 years have generated certain dissimilarity among early childhood educators regarding the curriculum they have studied and implemented. We encounter teachers of three categories; those who have studied and applied the new curriculum, those who have studied the old but applied the current curriculum and others who have studied the old and have applied both curricula. In the present study, we intended to include participants of all three categories. The main purpose of the research was to reveal the methodological characteristics of the didactical approach of two science concepts (evaporation and sinking/floating) in preschool classrooms and to discover to what extend the approach is influenced by teachers’ curriculum familiarization. The present research was organized in two stages: During Stage 1 data were collected from 30 preschool teachers, through semi-structured interviews. The main objective of the interviews was to reveal the way preschool teachers usually approach both science concepts, the degree they intend to implement contemporary didactical approaches and to detect their familiarization with recent curricula. During stage 2, we performed 8 in-classroom systematic observations of the approach of evaporation and sinking/floating with teachers of all three categories. The objective of the observations was to reveal the distance between the official curriculum and the applied curriculum regarding the methodological characteristics of the approach of the two concepts. The content analysis of the recorded material (interviews and observations) was based in both preset and emergent categories. Data were not faced as simple variables; they are rather examined flexibly, through an interpretive perspective in order to compose a more complete image. The results show a high level of inconsistency between teaching practice and the guidelines of the current curriculum, and attachment to previous curricula and techniques even for the new teachers. Small differences between the three teachers’ categories were detected and they showed that the approaches of teachers who were familiar with both curricula were more consistent with the current curriculum. Keywords: science teaching, early childhood, teachers' practice 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 160 Metacognitive Process and Evaluation Paraskevi Dimou Aikaterini Kasimati Xanthipi Sourti [email protected] The development of educational work has highlighted the need to foster plurality in terms of skills training in order to be able to meet the demands of the educational process. The teacher’s role is under constant change, as it is needed to be reshaped, so that students on the one hand can be provided with more creative learning tools and on the other hand evolve themselves dynamically as professionals (Day, 2003). The teacher’s position as rapporteur transformed putting him as a mentor and facilitator in the acquisition of new knowledge (Chatzigeorgiou, 2001). This involves two-way capability cultivation metacognitive skills and their use in authentic learning contexts. In typical school environments, students are addicted in memorization sterile knowledge finding difficulties in reformulating existing knowledge or 'build' new. This happens because they do not realize authentic learning processes, so their quest becomes laborious and fruitless. The possibility, therefore, to develop metacognitive skills will contribute to conscious knowledge and awareness of their personal learning mode so knowing when a goal is reached and when not. Special attention is paid to learning "How do I learn?" rather than content "What do I learn?". So, talking about metacognition of what we are interested in is what knowledge someone knows, remembers and thinks» (Metcalfe & Shimamura, 1994). For this purpose, a variety of tools can be used, with which students will practice in this process having active involvement in the learning process. Such tools are the diary log of their daily activities (Sofos, 2010) that will contribute to the cultivation of metacognitive skills to constantly improve their effectiveness (Matsagouras, 2000) and self-assessment based on criteria for achieving their goals (Marzano, Pickering & Pollock , 2004). It is also possible for the teacher to use evaluation tools which highlight the usefulness of this procedure and the continuous progress of students, such as various tests, portfolio, rubrics and self-assessment questionnaires and otherassessment. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the cultivation strategies of metacognitive skills as well as factors affecting them. In addition, an indicative teaching scenario is utilized to implement the metacognitive process to students and the alternative evaluation with various modern techniques beyond the formal examinations, in order to give and reshape the teaching act. Finally, proposals for the continuous professional development of teachers and transformation of their role towards pupils are submitted. Keywords: Cultivation skills, metacognition, techniques, assessment tools, transformation. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 161 Teacher Development Program in Preventing and Dealing with School Violence and Bullying Potoula - Spyridoula Vasileiou [email protected] Antisocial and diverging behavior of students in school environment, whether that is demonstrated violently or not, is a complex phenomenon and a difficult one to examine. It is also worrying, with multiple negative consequences within the school environment and the community, in general. According to the above, the school has to play an important role in preventing and dealing with antisocial and diverging behavior. Our main interest should be in primary prevention which aims at developing the necessary conditions and providing better terms for a successful socialization. This program applies to every teacher in Educational Region of Primary Teaching and is based on adult education principles and distance learning methods. It will take place within the frame of combined learning, meaning that it will include live seminars and distance learning and it will develop in three aspects: a) cognition, b) practice and c) remediation. The aim of the program is to reveal the importance of school in preventing and dealing with school violence and bullying, by exploiting the cognitive subject of School and Social Life. The goal of the cognitive subject of the School and Social Life is to place the students in the center of the changes without discriminations and inequalities in order to be improved in every aspect. SSL may work in a level of primary prevention, by strengthening the mental resilience of individuals and systems and providing the students with new skills and knowledge. The program will last three years, a necessary time period as it aims at changing attitudes and encouraging self-exploration, remediation and cooperation. In the first year, the teachers in charge of Prevention of School Violence and Bullying will take part in the teacher development program, in the second year they will pass their knowledge through their school units and in the third year a development of contact and cooperation networks is scheduled between school communities within the Region. The point is that every school unit must work as a small community of practice and a cooperation culture must develop within the school community but also between schools throughout the Region. Keywords: teacher development program, school violence, bullying 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 162 Evaluation of an e-Course Platform by Early Childhood Education Students Rosita Tsoni Vicky Nikolaou Jenny Pange [email protected] All universities worldwide use online platforms as educational material repositories or provide courses. The evaluation of the courses is crucial in order to reinsure their quality. Both experts’ evaluation, as well as students’ feedback, is needed as they can provide useful information for the courses’ improvement. Studies have revealed that the evaluation of an online course can indicate factors that influence learners’ success. In the present study e-courses’ learning material was used in order to implement a blended learning method for teaching undergraduates of School of Education. This material had a license under the “Creative Commons” licensing system. Thus, it is open to everyone to see and to use under certain terms and conditions. At the end of the semester, students evaluated the online course and their learning experience. In conclusion, students found this learning experience effective as they had the opportunity to participate in an interactive procedure instead of the typical face to face lecture. Moreover, the flexibility of video as a learning tool allowed them to pause, rewind and review video-lectures according to their learning needs. This flexibility was stressed as the main benefit of the online course. However, they would like to have more online interaction opportunities especially through social media. Finally, they proposed some technical modifications that they believed that would improve the course. Keywords: e- course, blended learning, students' evaluation 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 163 The Historical Novel: Towards an Alternative Approach of History Teaching Rosy Aggelaki [email protected] Teaching History within the school walls targets at presenting principal historical facts to pupils and simultaneously at rendering pupils’ perception of History acute whilst molding their historical conscience. Nevertheless, the materialization of these didactic aims along with the conceptualization of the notions of “time” and of geographic element, or even the evolutionary process that takes place in everyday life throughout the passage of years might face an impediment from time to time; there seems to be a contradiction between those very didactic aims and the History teaching methods that make the lesson rather tedious. The Teaching of History as a field aims at making us have further thoughts over the very texture of teaching itself overall and over the teaching of the particular subject as well. History teaching methods propose ways via which the educator is bound to acquaint him / herself with History in a multi – fold approach. In effect, this will result in being reverberated in his / her potential in teaching History lessons. After all, according to the modern trend of the new curricula, History lessons are founded on dialogical methodology and they tend to be interactive. In what way may pupils avail of the use of historical realia (authentic or replicas) and the use of pictures / photographs in History school classes? How will pupils benefit from such a use of realia in favor of their linguistic and intellectual competence? How should educators act towards this direction? What do today’s educators select as the most effective way to delve into the historical or / and local continuities and discontinuities? Do they opt for a documentary projection or do they choose the presentation of up to date photographical / pictionary material? Do educators select both of these methods? Furthermore, except for the fore - mentioned methods, do teachers believe that visits of educational hue, such as a visit to the museum, educate pupils much more effectively by providing them with food for thought and by inciting them to sharpen their acumen. An alternative approach of historical knowledge is considered to be Literature and particularly via the Historical Novel. Contemporary educators admit that there are relationships of intertextuality between Literature and History. Moreover contemporary educators believe that in this intertextuality are embedded the goals set for the pupils’ critical cross – cultural tutoring. Historical novels, apart from the fictional element that they entail, they are founded on factual truths which the literary author has researched into historical data and sources. Given that the educator in the context of the History class highlights the footnotes to his / her pupils, the latter get acquainted with these social constructs and they are encouraged into realizing that Literature constitutes a source for History itself, whilst History forms evidence for Literature. As a consequence, does a cohesive historical knowledge constitute the presence of historical reality and the linguistic / narrative representation of the social imaginary that is shaped within the historical novel? This announcement examines thoroughly this issue by laying particular emphasis on the teaching of Byzantine History in today’s School with the aid of Literature. Keywords: Teaching History, History and story / narrative, Historical Novel 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 164 In-Service Trainings of Teachers in Turkey and Japan Sabiha Öztürk [email protected] This study aimed to examine in-service training programs for teachers in Turkey and Japan and reveal similarities and differences between them. In the study, documents related to inservice trainings in these countries were examined and the results obtained were compared. All of such activities as “development programs” intended for teachers and “adaptation and candidateship trainings” and “seminar works” carried out for candidate teachers in Turkey can be evaluated within the scope of in-service training. In Turkey, in-service trainings for teachers are usually planned by the central organization of the ministry and provincial directorates for national education and carried out via using the method of distant education and face-to-face training methods. However, in Japan, every year about 5000 teachers are sent abroad by the government within the framework of in-service training programs. Moreover, in in-service trainings held locally, Provincial Education Committees plan and perform in-service training courses for teachers. In Japan, in in-service trainings for teachers, two different programs are applied; namely basic training and specialization training programs. Teachers take “first teaching training” in the first year of their professional career and ‘experienced teacher training’ and ‘midcareer teacher training’ in the fifth, tenth and fifteenth years of their professional careers. In the twentieth year of their profession, only heads of education departments at schools are given ‘school management training’. “Specialization trainings” include various direct in-service training courses for teachers who want to become experts in their fields or certain subjects. These courses are planned and carried out by local training centers to achieve certain goals. From the findings obtained from the documents examined, it is observed that teachers in both countries take candidateship training in the first years of their profession. In both countries, there are compulsory in-service trainings for teachers. However, in Japan, there is a compulsory in-service training program for teachers based on teaching career steps once every five years. On the other hand, while, in Turkey, seminar works are held at schools at the beginning and end of every educational year, in Japan, these trainings are generally given at training centers. While inservice trainings are planned locally in Japan, they are planned centrally in Turkey. Keywords: Teacher, In-Service Training, Japan, Turkey 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 165 Investigation of Branch Teachers’ Perceptions and Expectations about PreService Education and In-Service Training Şaduman Kapusuzoğlu Habibe Öztürk Sümeyye Derin [email protected] Teacher education has always been perceived as a critical area in educational systems because of the assumption that teachers have a great impact on the quality of education in schools (Goldhaber, 2007; Nye, Konstantopoulos and Hedges, 2004; Rivkin, Hanushek, and Kain, 2005; Rockoff, 2004; Öztürk and Yıldırım, 2014). In the case of teacher education and development context in Turkey, it can be analyzed in two dimensions; pre-service education and in-service training. Education Faculties of the universities serve for pre-service education and inservice training is carried out in educational institutions. Pre-service education was investigated in detail by Eşme (1999), Çakır (2000), Okçabol (2004), Seferoğlu (2004), Doğan (2005), Çelikten, Şanal ve Yeni (2005), Yiğit ve Alev (2005), Ekiz ve Yiğit (2006), Küçükahmet (2007), Karaca (2008), Işık, Çiltaş ve Baş (2010), Çoban (2011), Kartal (2011). In-service training was also studied by Ersoy (1996), Uşun and Cömert (2003), Öztürk and Sancak (2007), Selimoğlu and Yılmaz (2009). The main purpose of this study is to combine the two dimensions mentioned above and investigate branch teachers’ perceptions and expectations about pre-service training and in-service training. This study aimed to investigate branch teachers’ perceptions and expectations about pre-service education and in-service training with the ideas of branch teachers and to offer suggestions. For this purpose, the following questions were asked to the branch teachers: 1) What are the views of the branch teachers about pre-service education? 2) What are the expectations and suggestions of the branch teachers about pre-service education? 3) What are the views of the branch teachers about in-service training? 4) What are the expectations and suggestions of the branch teachers about in-service training? This study is a descriptive survey in which semi-structured interview form was used to investigate what branch teachers’ perceptions and expectations were about pre-service education and in-service training. Interview questions were prepared by researchers after searching the literature about pre-service education and inservice training in detail. The study was conducted in the Polatlı district of Ankara Province. Data were collected from 100 branch teachers who were selected by using purposive sampling method. The data obtained through interviews will be analyzed by the five-stage model which belongs to Strauss ve Corbin (1990; Akt. Dalgıç, Doyran ve Vatanartıran, 2012) Keywords: Teacher education, pre-service education, in-service training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 166 Institutes of Secondary Education Teachers Communication Skills Savaş Cemal Emirler [email protected] Erkan Tabancalı [email protected] The objective of this project is to determine communication skill levels of teachers working at state Anatolian high schools in the Bakırköy province of the city of Istanbul and whether these communication skills differ in terms of several variables or not. Answers to the questions below were sought in accordance with this very general objective. What is the communication level of teachers working at the state Anatolian high schools? Do communication skill levels of the teachers working at state Anatolian high school differ in terms of; gender, age, educational background, service in teaching? This project is restricted to the teachers working at the state Anatolian high schools and the scale of communication skills applied by those teachers. In this research, descriptive research method was used in order to propound communicative skills of teachers working at the state Anatolian high schools in the Bakirkoy province. The research was conducted using scanning patterns. The teachers working at the state Anatolian high schools in the Bakirkoy province of the city of Istanbul generate the universe of this research. The sample of this research was determined as the teachers working at five of the state Anatolian high schools and 109 teachers were asked to fill out the survey questionnaire. The data of the project was gathered through the “personal information form” that was generated by the researcher and “Communication Skills Inventory” improved by Ersanlı and Balcı (1998). “Communication Skills Inventory” was first developed by Balcı (1996). There were 70 items in the first version of this inventory, the validity and reliability studies of which was completed. The inventory was later applied to a sample consisting of 500 university students, as a result of the factor analysis, the number of items was reduced to 45. The inventory, the latest form of which was given by Ersanlı and Balcı, consists of 45 Likert type questions. The inventory measures communication skills in terms of cognitive, emotional and behavioral facts. There are 15 items measuring each dimension. In the research, analysis of the data gathered through data collection tools was done via the SPSS 15 packaged program. The significance level for all statistical analysis was, 05. In order to test the problem of the research and the subproblems set in parallel with it, T-test, which is used to compare the mean of two independent groups and single sided variance analysis (ANNOVA) were used. In accordance with the objective of our research, depending on the data collected, we can point out the results as follows: Communication levels of teachers determined in the good level. No meaningful significance was determined in the mean of total points of teachers in terms of gender, age, educational background and service year or any of the sub dimensions of communication skills. Keywords: communication skills, teacher 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 167 Pre-Service Teachers’ Views about Social Research Selçuk Şimşek Vesile Alkan Ali Rıza Erdem [email protected] It is accepted that teachers should help students to gain research consciousness in that students will be individuals who will be investigating, discussing and producing new ideas. To do this, firstly teachers should acquire research consciousness. Teachers are introduced with basic research knowledge and skills during their schooling at Education Faculties. Therefore, pre-service teachers should have been given well-qualified training to gain main research skills during their education. One of the roles of teacher training schools is to enable pre-service teachers to learn how to investigate. Büyüköztürk (1999) suggested that there should be courses related to social research. As is known, students at faculties have been taking social research courses. It is important to see these students’ views on social research whether these courses are helpful for them to gain research skills. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate pre-service teachers’ views about social research by using their metaphors. This study investigated preservice teachers’ opinions about scientific research, scientific thinking, researcher and social research course. Qualitative research methodology was used in this study. Purposive sampling method was used to select the sample. The data was collected with a form including open-ended questions. The data have been analyzed in terms of content analysis rules. The data analysis process is still going on. After data analysis, results and discussion will be presented. Keywords: Researching, Pre-service teachers, social research. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 168 The Examination of Self-Directed Learning Readiness Levels and Teaching Style Preferences of Vocational High School Teachers Şenay Ş.Koparan Ersin Şahin [email protected] The aim of this study is to determine self-directed learning readiness levels and teaching style preferences of vocational high school teachers. 207 teachers, including 70 females and 137 males working in a vocational high school in the Osmangazi district of Bursa Province in 2012-13 academic year, participated in the study. Self-directed Learning Readiness Scale, which was developed by Fisher et al. (2001) and adapted to the conditions of our country by Şahin and Erden (2009) with a validity and reliability study, was used in order to determine the selfdirected learning readiness levels of teachers. Teaching-Styles Inventory, which was also developed by Grasha and Riechman (1996) and adapted to the conditions of our country through a reliability study by Bilgin et al. (2002), was used with a view to determine the teaching style preferences of teachers. As a result of the normal distribution of data, independent t-test was used for the comparison of two groups. For the triple group comparisons, one-way analysis of variance was used and Pearson Correlation test was used at a significant relationship level. As the result of study, it was observed that self-directed readiness levels of a large number of the vocational high school teachers were high in terms of teaching styles; the most preferred teaching styles were representative and expert teaching styles. A statistically significant difference was not noticed between the self-directed learning readiness scale scores and teaching style scores of teachers in reference to gender variable. According to the educational status of teachers, there was a significant difference at the statistical level in an authoritarian and personal model teaching style preferences in favor of post-graduates. According to the professional seniority of teachers, a statistically significant difference was observed in favor of teachers who had professional seniority at the age of 51 and over in terms of expert teaching style preferences. A significant difference at the statistical level was also determined between expert and personal model teaching style scores in favor of teachers who had professional seniority at the age of 51 and over according to the ages of teachers. In addition, it was found that there was a significant relationship between the self-directed learning readiness of teachers and authoritarian, personal model, facilitator and representative teaching styles positively in statistical way while a significant relationship was also statistically determined between the graduation status of teachers and the authoritarian and personal model teaching style preferences of them positively. Keywords: Self-directed learning readiness, teaching style preference 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 169 Supporting Early Childhood Teachers in Science Education: Processes and outcomes Sofia Avgitidou Penelope Papadopoulou Petros Kariotoglou [email protected] This paper aims to present the processes and outcomes of an one-year university–teacher collaboration to support an inquiry and science skills-based educational process for young children through a teaching learning sequence (TLS) approach. The study is made under the action "ARISTEIA II": "Science Teacher Education” which was implemented within the framework of the European Program "Education and Lifelong Learning" and co-funded by the European Union and national resources. Specifically, this research aims to highlight early childhood (EC) teachers’ initial beliefs and practices regarding science education of young children as well as their shifts and altered beliefs and practices after systematic support through theory, research and reflection tools and systematic meetings as a group of teachers and university experts within a community of practice. Five experienced EC teachers were selected as case studies to provide an in-depth account of the process and outcomes of their support within the program. Data draw from initial and reflective individual interviews, observations of their practice in three time intervals (before, during and at the end of professional support), teachers’ written reflective logs and minutes from the group meetings in the course of the year. Data analysis involved both quantitative and qualitative content analysis and grounded theory (constant comparative analysis of each teacher’s course of thought and action within the year and between different courses of thought and action within the year). The study had both a developmental and research aspect that interacted and supported each other though the three different phases of the program (initial, first phase, second phase). Thus, the data collection and analysis from each phase contributed to the design of the aims and processes for the next phase highlighting the importance of a research-based guidance of teacher education. Results show that there were gradual shifts in the understanding and practice of EC teachers regarding science as an exploratory and skills-based process. However, these shifts varied according to the initial profile of each teacher. Results will be discussed in relation to specific proposals for enhancing professional learning in science education. Keywords: teacher education, science education, early childhood education, case studies 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 170 Teacher Support for A Dialogical Education: Processes and Outcomes Sonia Likomitrou Sofia Avgitidou [email protected] The aim of this research is to study the processes and results of a collaborative action research project, which supported early childhood (EC) teachers to improve or change their dialogic practices during the learning process. In the frame of the collaborative action research of this study - which is described as a collective, self - reflective research (Carr & Kemmis, 1986 ∙ Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988) - the role of the teacher as researcher and reflective practitioner was supported by the facilitator (first author). Specifically, this research utilizes data from a collaborative action research, with eight EC teachers, which lasted one year and included individual interviews with EC teachers, group meetings, taped recordings of their dialogic practices, self-observations though an observation sheet and individual interviews and drawings of the children. Data analysis adopted both a) grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, Strauss & Corbin, 1994),) based on a constant comparative analysis of data through the different cycles of action research and b) a quantitative content analysis comparing the kind of questions, feedback, pedagogical practices during dialogue based on the recorded activities of each teacher in three time intervals. Data analysis showed that the existing EC teachers’ dialogic practices connected dialogue more to the acquisition of knowledge and emphasized the rules of discussion rather than children’s participation in the construction of knowledge. The difficulties encountered at the beginning of the action research related both to their pre-existing knowledge and habitual action as well as to psychological factors (stress, fear of failure to correspond to the new challenge to work with a new and different way from what they used to). The factors, however, that led to resistance to change, decreased through systematic support processes such as enhancing reflection, the use of research tools to document practice and theoretical frameworks during group meetings and providing individual and collective support based on the analysis of recorded dialogues. EC teachers’ dialogic practices were improved in terms of decreasing closed questions with one right answer, encouraging exploratory dialogue and giving a focused feedback to children with additional questions or comments. EC teachers also repositioned themselves in terms of children’s abilities to be involved in exploratory talk and participate in decision making. Results are discussed in relation to professional learning aiming at improvement of educational work through EC teachers’ support to revisit their practices in the dialogic process in the classroom. Keywords: action research, teacher education, dialogue, early childhood education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 171 “It Works but how?” The importance of Educational Robotics as a Precursor of Computational Thinking in Early Childhood Education Spyros Kourias Anna Chronaki Elias Choustis [email protected] Recently, the critical role of education and its impact on defining employment opportunities has been pointed out on several occasions at the European level. The teaching of mathematics, programming and science are areas that can significantly contribute to social development but it is necessary to adapt them to the demand for specific skills, beginning from the very early stages of education. Pedagogical scenarios that involve Educational Robotics have been deliberately proposed as a sound way of teaching kids maths as well as computational and analytical thinking. Building and programming a robot is a complex task, which requires not necessarily technical skills but also the ability to think at multiple levels of abstraction. The term “computational thinking” was originally coined by Jeannette Wing (2006) in order to propose a set of systematic thinking patterns and tasks in various fields of action. It can be defined as the capacity to undertake a problem-solving process using distinctive techniques, typical of computer science, among which: a) representing information through abstractions such as models and simulations; b) logically structuring and analyzing data; c) automating solutions through algorithmic thinking; d) formulating problems in a way that facilitates the use of computerized tools for their solution. These abilities are of great value not only to informatics professionals, since they actually underlie strategies for dealing with everyday life problems. Even though the term might be elusive to a wider public outside the field of computer science, it also coincides with the key elements of the epistemology of Constructivism that was developed by Jean Piaget and with its “reinvention” in Papert’s philosophy of Constructionism. From the beginnings of his research in the dues of the 60s, Papert’s orientation was towards the educational implementation of innovative tools and environments such as Logo Language and Turtle. Besides criticism, Logo gradually established itself and in the same time inspired new tools and environments such as Roamer, BeeBot, ProBot Lego WeDo/EV3, Algoblock and later on, languages such as Scratch, Blockly, Quetzal, Tern, all of which seem to enhance Computational thinking thus, the learning process in itself. In this paper, based on the rich legacy of our recent and current work with contemporary technologies in the early years, conducted within the Learning Technologies and Mathematics Education Lab (part of STeaM Lab/ECE Department/University of Thessaly), we focus on how Educational Robotics can act as a precursor of Computational Thinking and we intend to document indicative episodes. Keywords: Educational Robotics, Computational thinking, Mathematics education, early childhood education 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 172 Constructing a Blended Learning Environment for Teacher’s Education: From Theory to Praxis Stavroula Antonopoulou [email protected] Today many in-service teacher training programs have taken a digital turn to the use of elearning environments. Due to an increasing demand for geographic distribution and constant time constrains of professional teachers, e-learning programs are considered an inexpensive solution. By changing the medium through which learning takes places, many issues are raised, like educational design and digital teaching practices. Our presentation will focus on such issues by studying a training program designed in Greece for language teachers of secondary schools. This program was based on a blended approach, which is a combination of distance e-learning activities with in-person sessions, and was designed to accommodate collaborative and constructive learning activities. Our presentation has a dual aim: Firstly, to briefly describe the pedagogical design of this program, in order to be in line with the basic principles of adult education, digital learning communities and constructivist learning theories. Secondly, we will focus on the “recontextualisation” of this design; how it was realized in a specific digital environment with its specific affordances, and how social actors enacted their identities while a community of learners was being constructed through time. On that line, it will be mainly focused on the issue of learning through asynchronous communication. How can collaborative practices be held through written communication and what is the role of the trainer? What are the stances of teacher trainees against this model of learning, and what is the role of their professional identity to the learning outcome? We will try to shed light on those issues by using data from two parallel training programs of secondary school language teachers regarding ICT implementation on everyday lessons. Our approach is based on the principles of online ethnography (online observation, collection and analysis of written/spoken artifacts), in combination with interviews and quantitative data from questionnaires. Analysis is based on the theoretical tools of (critical) discourse analysis, with a main focus on the identities of social actors as enacted through their use of written/spoken language. Results show that teacher trainees at first resist to the collaborative learning model of the training program, as frontal teaching is prominent on their current professional identities. Gradually and through everyday asynchronous collaboration, not only do they change their stance against the program, but they tend to implement constructivist practices on their own teaching. Keywords: digital learning, blended approach, educational design, in-service training, language teachers, digital ethnography 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 173 Pre-Service Primary School Teachers’ Reflective Writing about the Implementation of Project-Based Learning During Their School Teaching Practice Stavroula Kaldi Styliani Zafeiri [email protected] Teachers’ reflection of the teaching and learning process can act as a medium to assess the effectiveness of teaching (here in terms of obtaining the teaching aims and pre-determined learning products as well as of evaluating the process which can lead to the aimed learning products) and to provide ground for teacher professional development. It can be categorized as reflection before, during and after the teaching process and uses critical thinking. Previous research on teacher reflection has indicated that reflecting before, during and after teaching can create teacher motivation to think critically, to analyze their experiences and develop as professionals. For teachers to be able to reflect on teaching they should be adequately prepared regarding reflection during their undergraduate courses. The present study aimed to identify the characteristics of pre-service primary school teachers’ reflective writing about the implementation of project-based learning (P-BL) during the final semester school teaching practice course of their undergraduate studies. Reflecting on child-centered teaching and learning approaches appears to be scarce in the literature. The methodology applied in the present study is qualitative in terms that it used analysis of the written reflection which was produced by undergraduate pre-service teachers. The participants were fifty student teachers (38 female and 10 male) aged between 21 and 22 years in the final semester (8th) from an undergraduate primary school teacher education course. During that semester student teachers of the specific course take on the responsibility of planning and teaching for ten consecutive teaching days. One of their duties is planning and implementing project-based learning in the class lasting about ten teaching hours. At the end of the school teaching practice component of the 8th semester, student teacher hand in a teaching portfolio which includes, among other, their written reflection on the implementation of P-BL in primary school classrooms. The data used in the present study included student teachers’ reflective writing based on three axes: (a) teaching tasks, (b) learning tasks and student involvement and (c) future implementation. The analysis revealed different modes and themes of reflection in student teachers’ writing. Student teachers attempted to reflect in an explanatory way rationalizing the events. Moreover, the themes developed indicated student teachers’ attempts to think critically after the implementation of child-centered teaching. The present study contributes to the knowledge base on the reflective writing of pre-service teachers concerning child-centered teaching approaches. Keywords: pre-service teachers, reflective writing, project-based learning 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 174 Novice Teachers’ Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Beliefs Şükran Tok Türkay Nuri Tok [email protected] According to Bandura (1997, 80) teacher efficacy is “the outcomes of cognitive process in which people construct beliefs about their capacity to perform at a given level of competence”. Specific domains of teacher self-efficacy that have received previous research attention include student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management (Tschannen-Moran & Hoy, 2001; cited in Bullock, Coplan & Bosacki, 2015). Effective classroom management is critical in the establishment of learning environments that promote academic success (Rosas & West, 2010). Lundeen (2004) investigated what the perceived problems of new teachers in their first year were. The analysis provided two emerging categories for individual and group problems; classroom management and discipline problems and adult relationship and interaction problems (cited in Öztürk & Yıldırım, 2013). More experienced teachers tend to have higher teacher efficacy for classroom management as compared to novice teachers (Klassen & Chiu, 2010; Putman, 2012) (cited in Bullock, Coplan & Bosacki, 2015). Gonzalez, Brown and Slate (2008) found that one of the primary factors for teachers leaving the profession was “difficulties with student discipline” (p.1) (cited in Rosas, West, 2010). Giallo and Little (2003) reported that teachers who were perceived to have high classroom management self-efficacy were more effective in dealing with severe and unmanageable behaviors of their students than teachers who were perceived as having a lower sense of self-efficacy in behavior management (cited in AbuTineh, Khasawneh, Khalaileh, 2011). This study aims to determine novice teachers’ classroom management self-efficacy beliefs as well as to what extent these beliefs change according to independent variables. Specifically, the following research questions were investigated: 1. What are the novice teachers’ classroom management self-efficacy beliefs?, 2. Do the beliefs of the novice teachers differ according to gender, age, educational background, branch, and teaching experience? This research which aims to determine novice teachers’ classroom management selfefficacy beliefs is a general survey type research. The participants of the working group are 100 novice teachers on duty in their first year in the Hatay Province in Turkey. In this research classroom management self-efficacy beliefs scale, developed by Çetin (2013) has been used. Cronbach Alpha internal consistency parameter for the scale is .81. In the analysis of data, frequency, mean, standard deviation, one-way variance analysis (ANOVA) and independent samples t-test will be used. Findings will be present after the analysis of data. Keywords: Novice teacher, classroom management, classroom management self-efficacy beliefs. 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 175 Developing a Professional Learning Community in a Greek Primary School: Identifying the Obstacles (Action Research Study) Theologia Avdelli [email protected] Professional Learning Communities (P.L.C.) are developed when school teachers systematically and continuously collaborate in order to learn from each other, to critically examine their practices, to explore new teaching strategies and finally to improve their professional effectiveness for the benefit of all of their students. However, research in Greece stresses that teachers’ collaboration is focused mainly on procedural matters and not on teaching and learning. Furthermore, even though there are some Greek Primary Schools (G.P.S.) where teachers are improving their professional learning collaboratively, this occurs sporadically and inconsistently. Considering the above observations the question, “Which are the factors that prevent the development of P.L.C. in G.P.S?” emerges. Thus, aim of this action research project is to identify factors that set barriers to teachers’ collaborative learning and the growth of P.L.C. in a particular primary school, through observation of everyday school life, informal discussions with colleagues & parents, analyses of governmental & teachers’ union documents and minutes of meetings. The action research is taking place between the school years 2012 - 2015, in an urban primary school with 9 permanent and 9 supply teachers, and 148 students. During this period the writer of this abstract is the head teacher of the school and has no previous knowledge about its function, staff, students and social environment. Therefore, the first year of the research was dedicated to understand the school culture and climate, the range of teachers’ collaboration, and the relationship between all members of the school community. The second year was committed to form P.L.C. so that the teachers through collaborative learning to accomplish the self-evaluation of the school’s provided education following governmental decrees, orders and instructions. As this effort failed, the third year was allocated to form P.L.C. to facilitate collaborative learning upon educational issues that teachers identified as significant for the school’s function and the development of their professional skills. The first results out of this inquiry highlight that two categories of factors prevent the development of P.L.C. in G.P.S. The first category describes external factors such as; the institutional framework of school’s function, the institutional teachers’ obligations and duties, the institutional powerlessness of head teacher to provide teachers with motivation for changes, and teachers’ union opinions and attitudes towards educational changes and innovations. The second category portrays internal factors such as; the school’s climate, teachers’ previous experience on collaborative learning, teachers’ attitudes and habits concerning their job, the phase of teachers’ personal life and the school’s parents’ opinion about the function of the particular school. Future quantitative and qualitative research inquiries are needed in order to investigate in depth the lack of collaborative learning in G.P.S. Keywords: Professional Learning Community, Collaborative Learning, Teachers' Professional Development 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 176 The Evaluation of the Adult Educators That Participate in Those Educational Programs for Immigrants Thomaitsa Theodorakopoulou [email protected] The adult educators who participate in the lesson courses and the Odysseas program have to correspond to a set of criteria for their approval. Odysseas is an educational program which refers to "Education of immigrants in Greek language, Greek history and Greek culture ODYSSEAS' addressed to EU citizens and third -country nationals irrespective of their origin, from the age of 16 years and older who are legally resident in Greece. The purpose of the course is for the students to acquire the linguistic skills and practices social and intercultural skills required for social inclusion of themselves and their families. In Europe, if the adult educators do not fulfil the criteria, they can participate in an advanced training measure in order to obtain additional qualifications. A further evaluation of the teachers is therefore not necessary. Given that professional training represents an important factor in teaching processes by which teachers and lecturers grow to be readier to respond to all challenges of their profession, the Education Agency and the Vocational and Adult Training Agency systematically carry out professional training programs, conduct expert-pedagogical supervision and deliver seminars/workshops for the education system personnel, including teachers and lecturers working with immigrants. In Greece the valuation of adult educators is not provided such as advance learning. However, the adult educators holding the language courses and the civic education are accredited by the Ministry of Education. The accreditation is based on the teacher’s expertise in the language (bachelor or master required) or in the citizenship training (a special national teacher training course is offered) and on his/her pedagogical competence. In this paper, we are going to focus on the differences that are mentioned between the adult educators in Greece and in the other European countries as far as it concerns their evaluation and the way they obtain more qualifications if it is necessary. Keywords: adult educators, evaluation, qualifications 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 177 Supporting Sustainable Innovation of the Teacher Education Curriculum Using Open Educational Resources and Deliverables Developed for EU Educational Technology Projects Ton Koenraad [email protected] As testified by papers presented at international conferences on ICT in (teacher) education (see e.g. the Proceedings of the Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education, 2013 & 2014) organizations for teacher education appear to be increasingly adopting curriculum approaches based on (national) standards and the TPACK model (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (Mishra & Koehler, 2006)). At the same time papers documenting the challenges teacher education institutes face in the implementation of such approaches keep appearing (e.g. David & Loveless, 2011; Polly, Mims, Shepard & Inan (2010)) The present author contributed to this theme with some case studies describing the implementation process of the national e-competences standards for teachers in the faculty of Education of a Dutch University of Applied Sciences (Koenraad & van der Hoeff, 2013). Among others it was concluded that the speed at which new technologies became available and the consequent lacked of researched & documented pedagogical approaches and materials impact negatively on teacher educators’ feelings of efficacy in the ICT domain. In this paper, we suggest that the further development of explorative and research driven elements in technology and education courses could help to provide a sustainable approach to address this issue and keep the teacher education curriculum up to date and student-centered. We also claim that using Open Educational Resources and specific deliverables developed for innovative EU projects (Koenraad, 2014) can greatly help to implement the proposed approach. To illustrate our experiences we will present a number of innovative EU projects related to interactive classroom technologies and digital video in the language learning domain and report how activities and methodologies based on their content and facilities can be developed. Keywords: Teacher education, ICT, ICT standards, e-competences, curriculum development, innovation 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 178 Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor Patterns of Pre-Service Teachers’ Learning Experiences with Teachers Tuba Acar Erdol Ergin Erginer Aysun Erginer [email protected] The purpose of the present study is to identify cognitive, affective and psychomotor factors involved in the learning experiences with teachers for pre-service teachers. Designed as a phenomenological study, an analysis was conducted on the cognitive, affective and psychomotor factors of learning experiences that pre-service teachers had with their teachers, and relevant patterns were identified. To that end, the conceptual framework of the study was shaped by the question of what cognitive, affective and psychomotor implications emerged as a result of the positive/negative learning experiences pre-service teachers had with their teachers. The sample contained a total of 748 pre-service teachers, and the data were collected through a data collection instrument devised by the researchers. These data involved the views of the preservice teachers on the characteristics of their experiences. The pre-service teachers uploaded the data to the measuring instrument that the researchers had identified on Google Drive. The data were on the pre-service teachers registered for the Pedagogical Formation Certificate Program offered by Nevsehir Haci Bektas Veli University during the Spring Term of the 2014-2015 Academic Year. These data were then subjected to a content analysis, and the emerging patterns were schematized via “Kidspiration”. The analysis of the findings is still underway, though preliminary findings suggest some implications. In an incidence of a successful and ambitious student overpraised by the teacher, one of the pre-service teachers noted that such an approach would lead to cognitive damage in the student in the future. As an affective implication, the participant reported that they would regret such an experience; however, they did not make reference to any motoric actions. Regarding the satisfaction of their developmental needs by the teacher, the participant believed that such an experience would convey a favorable impression on their cognitive skills. An affective implication of this, as he/she reported, would be happiness. However, he/she did not make reference to a motoric action in the event of such an experience. This study will hopefully make a significant contribution to the literature on teacher education once all its findings have been documented. Keywords: Teacher education, phenomenology, cognitive/affective/psychomotor pattern 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 179 The Relationship between Work-Life Balance and Life Satisfaction among Teachers in Turkish Public Schools Turgut Karaköse Kürşad Yilmaz Yahya Altinkurt Orhan Murat Kalfa [email protected] In today’s information era, the distinction between the individual's family-life and worklife dimensions has been growing even bigger. When examined from the teachers’ point of view; in order to enable quality and efficiency in education, it is important that teachers achieve balancing their work-life and family-life. Thus, it is important to determine the effect of worklife balance on life satisfaction of teachers. The purpose of this study is to identify whether there is a relationship between work-life balance and life satisfaction of teachers. This study was designed according to the relational survey model. The sample of the study consisted of 281 teachers working in Kütahya, Turkey. Study data was collected with Work-Life Balance Scale (Netenmeyer, Boles and McMurrian, 1996) and Life Satisfaction Scale (Diener, 1985). The “Work-Life Balance Scale” consists of two sub-scales aiming at measuring “work-family conflict” levels that are due to work life and “family-work conflict” levels that are due to family life. Together with descriptive statistics aiming at identifying teacher opinions, a “Multiple Regression Analysis” was conducted in order determine whether there is a significant relationship between the work-life balance of teachers and their life satisfaction rates. According to the result of this study which examined the effects of work-life balance of teachers on their life satisfactions; life satisfaction levels of teachers were a little over “medium degree”. The work-life balance of teachers who participated in the study was observed to be at a “medium” degree. Based on this data, it can be asserted that teachers have a “medium degree” of work-life balance and again a “medium degree” of life satisfaction. According to the analysis, there is a significant difference between work-life balances of teachers regarding the gender variable; however, no statistical significant differences were observed for the other variables of the study. In addition, there were no significant differences between life satisfaction rates of teachers regarding the other variables. At the final stage of the study, the effect of work-life balance of teachers on their life satisfaction was analyzed with the Pearson correlation analysis and according to the results; there is a positive way significant relationship between work-family conflicts and family-work conflicts of teachers; but there is no significant relationship between work-family conflicts and life satisfactions of teachers. In addition, according to the correlation analysis, there is a negative way significant relationship between family-work conflicts and life satisfaction of teachers. Keywords: Work-Life Balance, Life satisfaction, Teachers, Public Schools 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 180 Issues and Tools for Quality Food Education at School Valentina Corinaldi [email protected] Food education is becoming a central topic and it will be even more so during this year, thanks to Expo 2015, whose topic is "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". Eating is a complex act that deals with individual, political, social and cultural dimensions. The school and the educational institutions should take on this new challenge. The purpose of this project is to give teachers and educators effective tools for food education. The theoretical framework is based on Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory. Howard Gardner (1983) identifies eight types of human intelligence able to solve problems and to produce appreciable performance in the cultural background. Each intelligence type can help in dealing with important issues related to food, using different types of problem solving. The experimental project CulturAAlimentazione, aimed to promote a food education model at Primary school based on a narrative approach. The project produced the first result, the Manifesto for conscious education of children in families and school contexts, written by the University of Macerata and the Laboratorio delle Idee Company. The Manifesto has inspired a second project called Edueat that provides tools like the play book Aggiungi un gioco a tavola. It is composed of two smaller books, one for adults and the other one for children. The purpose of the book is to transmit food education through playful and sensory approach; in fact, it proposes some activities that children can achieve together with their parents, using the senses. The third result is the senses intelligence table that explains some activities crossing every intelligence type with the sensorial abilities. Every activity is based on sensory exploration of food through several student skills. For that reason the table could become a useful teaching-learning tool at school to promote healthy and conscious eating. Currently the project is going on through field testing of the activities based on the book with children and training courses for teacher and parents, to diffuse good practice about food education. Keywords: Food education, Multiple Intelligences, senses, playful approach 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 181 Does the Adult Educator Need a Personal Educational Philosophy? Vasiliki Karavakou Genovefa Papadima [email protected] This paper aims to highlight (a) the reasons for which the adult educator should be mindful of the broader philosophical framework governing their thought and practice as well as (b) how the adult educator can reclaim it in the educational process. Coupling educational philosophy and educational practice is necessary as theory without practice leads to an excessive and sterile idealism, whilst practice without its theoretical underpinnings leads to malign empiricism and unreflective activism. The determination of the personal educational philosophy enables the adult educator to acquire conscious knowledge of the reasons for which they uphold certain convictions and evaluations, to further develop critical thinking and insight, to ascribe meaning to and control their educational choices and teaching methods and intervene (if possible) in the curriculum. The issue of the contribution of one’s personal educational philosophy to the educational process branches into a series of other, equally important, issues about the aims of education itself, the role of the educator, the learner and the learning process, the influence that is exercised upon them by particular cultural affiliations and finally, the fact that each learner may indeed follow a personal educational philosophy. Any review of the relevant literature reveals that these issues are investigated by several questionnaires, some of which focus on the importance of learning strategies (PALS, Conti, 1978; ATLAS, Conti & Colody, 2004), whilst others research the effect that personal educational philosophy has upon educational practice (PHIL, Conti, 2007; PAEI, Zinn, 1983). More adequately than any other the PAEI questionnaire by Zinn aspires to highlight the personality of the educator and investigate their critical awareness, the possibility of adopting alternative approaches in the planning of educational programs and teaching methodology and the realizability of the educator’s broader evaluative goals. This paper investigates the methodological and interpretative virtues of Zinn’s questionnaire in the context of a broader reflection on the contribution of one’s personal educational philosophy to the educational process and practice. It is worth noting that the determination of the personal educational philosophy is not sufficient for resolving the problems modern adult educators have to face. Evidently, the proper institutional arrangements, social and educational policies as well as a broader culture about adult learning should be in place. Nevertheless, being mindful of the kind of educational philosophy that underlies educational practices constitutes a clearly and undeniably necessary precondition for the adult educator’s effective response to all modern challenges. Keywords: educational philosophy, adult educator, self-evaluation, teaching and learning 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 182 Development of Intercultural Attitudes and Values in the Greek Students with the Teaching of Language and Literature. A Comparative Approach in the Curricula of 2003 and 2011 Vasiliki Mitropoulou Maria Anagnostopoulou [email protected] In today’s Greek schools, special emphasis is given to intercultural education, which refers to the enrichment of educational approaches with teaching and pedagogical practices that aim to promote peaceful coexistence and equal opportunities to all pupils, independently of their cultural origin. The principles of intercultural education are diffused in the aims, goals and contents of the –in use- Curricula of 2003 and the new Pilot Curricula of 2011. Our aim in this work was to notice the extent to which both Curricula (2003 and 2011) took into consideration the cultural diversity in the classrooms and particularly, to investigate how they promoted the values of respect, tolerance, equality and solidarity in the pupils’ attitudes. Additionally, we aimed to compare the two Curricula, as concerns their contribution to the principles of intercultural education. We focused our research on the courses of Greek Language-Literature at Primary and Secondary Education, in both Curricula of 2003 and 2011. Specifically, we analyzed the cognitive content, the proposed teaching methods and activities, as well as the interdisciplinary projects and teaching scenarios. The data drawn from our investigation (words, sentences, paragraphs) was firstly analyzed and then categorized into the following categories: 1. Information / understanding of the "others" living in Greece and abroad. 2. Interaction, communication, co-operation with the "others" who live abroad. 3. Interaction with the "others" in Greece - Intercultural Education (conditions and procedures in Education so as to achieve coexistence, acceptance, cooperation, inclusion). 4. Values / attitudes / skills that are promoted in the Curricula, and contribute to the equality among people in multicultural societies. Some of the important key terms that have been included in the listed categories are; multicultural society, equality of cultures, egalitarianism, respect of rights, integration of foreigners, co-existence, intercultural conscience. Upon completion of this research phase, a tentative attempt was made to compare our findings and present which of the two Curricula focused on and promoted more the intercultural needs. Keywords: intercultural values, intercultural attitudes, curricula, cultural integration, coexistence 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 183 Perspectives and Limitations of Action Research in Teacher Change: The Effect Of EC Teachers’ Initial Beliefs and Practices Regarding Children’s Participation Vassiliki Alexiou Sofia Avgitidou [email protected] This study aims to highlight the processes and outcomes of a collaborative action research project in relation to the initial beliefs and practices of participating teachers that formulate their different profiles. Specifically, by teacher profile we mean a combination of teachers’ beliefs regarding the aims of education, the organization of the learning process, their understanding of children’s characteristics and abilities and of their educational practices related to these beliefs. Action research has been widely discussed as an effective methodology for the support of teachers’ reflection and improvement of practice (Altrichter, Posch & Somekh 2001). However, little attention has been given to the examination of action research differentiated processes or outcomes in relation to the different profiles of the participating teachers. The research draws from an 18-month action research aiming to support 12 early childhood (EC) teachers in rethinking and improving their practices regarding young children’s participation in decision making. Observations of both free and structured activities, interviews with EC teachers in the beginning and end of action research, recorded structured activities, individual and collective meetings and children’s interviews and drawings were all used as data collection methods. The analysis of initial teacher interviews and observations of practice identified three different teacher profiles among these 12 participating EC teachers in relation to a participatory educational process. The first teacher profile was related to beliefs and practices that supported and encouraged children’s wide participation during both free and structured activities. The second profile was related to a contradiction among what the teacher claimed (children’s active participation) and what the teacher was observed to encourage in the classroom (children’s limited participation in decision making). The third profile related to limited margins for children’s participation in the daily educational process both stated by the teacher and observed in practice. Resistance to change beliefs and practices through the course of action research was also differentiated and concerned either issues related to the feasibility to organize daily education as a participatory process or to issues related to children’s ability to actively participate in decision making. This paper will show how the processes of support as well as the outcomes of action research were differentiated according to the three teacher profiles. Discussion of these results aims to clarify that while action research is a flexible and adaptable methodology to support teachers rethink, improve or change their actions according to their needs, questions and initial beliefs and practices, it does not necessarily have the same outcomes for all participating teachers. Keywords: collaborative action research, children’s participation, educational profile, case studies 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 184 Teacher Education on Human Rights Vassilis Pantazis Efpraxia Triantafyllou Georgia Pantazi [email protected] The human rights can be promoted and implemented through education, training and the bodies of socialization. The educations of human rights contribute to the realization of the injustice in the world and distinguish fair from unfair. Therefore, if the state wants prospective citizens to understand, defend and respect human rights, it has to change its educational purpose and method of teaching. Specifically, it should seek the introduction and analysis of human rights at all grades of education. Furthermore, it should properly prepare the educational community, which will play an important role in the realization of human rights. Moreover, the teacher is the one who should actively participate in the struggle for human rights and to develop a more humane and just fullness. But what happens in Greece? Does the Greek educational system provide for the involvement of students in human rights? Has the educational community has received adequate training? The present study tried to give answers to these questions. In particular, we conducted a research with a view to investigating the knowledge and attitudes of Greek teachers for the education of human rights. The empirical part of this study pursued two objectives: Our first objective was to collect data on the implementation of human rights education in Greek schools. The second objective was to analyze the important practices for teaching human rights. Regarding the survey sample, teachers of both primary and secondary education participated (Primary, Secondary, High). Finally, the results showed the weakness of the Greek education system to promote human rights. Indicatively, our research revealed the weaknesses were teachers in effective teaching of human rights and in connection with specific references from the daily life of those involved. These weaknesses largely appear to be due to a lack of compulsory courses on education rights in the Greek education departments and the lack of good information - training of practicing teachers. Keywords: Education, Human Rights, Training 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 185 The Teacher Path to ICT Integration Seen Through the TPACK Lens: The Critical Role of Awareness of the Learning Challenge Vassilis Kollias Ilias Karasavvidis [email protected] As a model, TPACK (Koehler & Mishra 2009) represents the different types of knowledge teachers need in order to integrate ICT in their practices and realize their potential. It can therefore establish a shared language for discussing teacher professional development along the line of ICT integration. Krauskopf et al. (Krauskopf et al 2015) have recently addressed how TPCK could be used to map teacher professional development along ICT integration giving emphasis on the processes of teacher learning. In the current study, we used self-reported maps of projected professional development to highlight barriers along this path. Twenty seven graduate students in a graduate program focusing on educational leadership participated in the study. The participants had a bachelor degree leading to a career either as primary or as secondary education teachers. Half of them had extensive teaching experience while the others had no prior teaching experience. In an introductory lesson on the use of ICT in teaching, the students were introduced to the TPACK model. Then they were asked to use the TPACK categories in order to report their own projected professional trajectory towards mastering high quality ICT integration in their classrooms. Data analysis used the written reports produced by the students and focused mainly on a) the teachers’ perceived starting point of professional development, b) the teachers’ perceived knowledge deficiencies and c) their perceived pathways of professional progress. The majority of the participants (19 out of 27), independently from the educational level they taught at and their prior classroom teaching experience reported explicitly Pedagogical Knowledge and Content Knowledge as secure foundations (starting points). The majority (22 out of 27) reported also explicitly Technological Knowledge as their main deficiency and described a learning trajectory which would include acquaintance with software and fitting of the software to prior pedagogical competence. Teachers with no extended teaching experience as yet, highlighted the importance of assessing their ICT efforts, using trial and error, in order to gradually arrive at the optimal use of ICT. The implication is that both novice and experienced teachers in primary and secondary education embark on the ICT integration journey with little awareness that they will have to fundamentally transform their teaching practices to realize the potential of technology. The result is in accordance with recent research on barriers of ICT integration even for highly qualified teachers who misconstrue the transformative challenge of technologies (Karasavvidis & Kollias 2014). Keywords: TPACK, ICT integration, learning 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 186 Could the Principal Help Teachers' Professional Development Within The School Unit? Venetia Kapachtsi Domna-Mika Kakana [email protected] Collaborative action research, as a model of teachers’ professional development contributes to their professional development and tends to transform educational practice in a more profound pedagogical process. In this study, such a model was chosen, with eleven participants of various disciplines at a secondary school in eastern Thessaloniki, during the school year 2013-2014. With the initiative of the school headmistress, collaborative action research was implemented. Τhe purpose of this study was to investigate whether collaborative action research initiated by the headmistress in cooperation with the teachers, could be a kind of training for teachers of secondary education. The participants decided, scrutinizing their teaching problems, the aim of their improvement effort that was the implementation of the collaborative method of teaching in their classrooms. During this effort, the teachers started to get involved in the process of reflection and they tried to keep diaries in order to reflect on their experiences. During the last three months of the school year, peer observation -another methodological tool of action research- was used by the participants in order to obtain real evidence of the teaching method. The progress of the collaborative action research was evaluated by analyzing the participants’ diaries and students’ evaluation sheets. According to the participants, the exchange of experiences through action research admittedly served both as a kind of participants’ activation and as a "reservoir" of options for further progress. The students, although they faced some difficulties in adapting to the new teaching practices, began to communicate better, to act cooperatively and finally they found the new teaching method more attractive than the traditional one. The faculty member of the University in the role of facilitator and the active headmistress’ presence at the meetings, proved decisive according to the teachers. Thus, open-minded and well educated persons in the field of educational organization and management are required. The principal of the school units should be the key figure for such an effort, providing an encouraging and supportive atmosphere leading to teachers’ professionalism Keywords: principal, school unit, professional development, teacher 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 187 Pre-service Teachers’ Views on the Quality of Faculty Life Yahya Altinkurt Kürşad Yilmaz Turgut Karaköse Orhan Murat Kalfa [email protected] Students are required to be the active creators of school, rather than being passive receivers of information and services provided in the school. In order to provide this, an appropriate climate needs to be ensured, which means increasing the qualities of school life. The main purpose of increasing the quality of school life is to engage students in the school and to integrate them with the school environment. The quality of school life is defined as the synthesis of positive and negative experiences and very special situations related to the other feelings in school life and its outcomes. Studies related to the quality of school life are done with the aims like measuring school effectiveness and its improvement. Additionally, another aim is to ensure these students with a high quality of life and to develop the comprehensive educational practices and teachers' teaching effectiveness (Leonard, Bourke and Schofield, 2003b). The present study aimed to determine the views of the pre-service teachers on the quality of faculty life. The research was designed with the survey model. The sample was comprised of 183 pre-service teachers. The Quality of Faculty Life Scale (Çokluk-Bökeoğlu and Yılmaz, 2006) was used as the data gathering tool for the survey. Scale is composed of three dimensions: Satisfaction with Class Atmosphere and Relations to Students, Satisfaction with Instructors and Satisfaction with Faculty. Descriptive statistics, t-test for pair comparisons and ANOVA for more than two comparisons were used to define the opinions of pre-service teachers about the Quality of Faculty Life. According to the findings, pre-service teachers’ satisfaction with faculty life is moderate. Pre-service teachers feel satisfied with Instructors at the highest level with Class Atmosphere and Relations to Students and with Faculty respectively. Pre-service teachers’ views on the Quality of Faculty Life; Satisfaction with Instructors; Satisfaction with Class Atmosphere and Relations to Students and Satisfaction with Faculty sub-dimensions do not vary according to gender. While pre-service teachers’ views on the Quality of Faculty Life; Satisfaction with Class Atmosphere and Relations to Students and Satisfaction with Faculty sub-dimensions vary according to grade, views on Satisfaction with Instructors sub-dimension do not vary according to the grade. While freshman students and senior students have the most positive opinions, sophomore students and junior students have the most negative opinions in the total point of the Quality of Faculty Life. The difference is between those who have and have not a positive opinion. The difference in the Satisfaction with Class Atmosphere and Relations to Students subdimension is between junior students, who have the most negative opinions and freshman students and senior students who have more positive opinions. The difference in the Satisfaction with Faculty sub-dimension is between freshman students and senior students who have the most positive opinions, and sophomore students and junior students who have the most negative opinions. In all dimensions whether there exists a difference or not; while freshman students and senior students have the most positive opinions, sophomore students and junior students have the most negative opinions. Keywords: Pre-service Teachers, Quality of Faculty Life 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 188 A Compilation Work about Why Turkey Suffers From Learning and Teaching English Yıldız Suna [email protected] In today’s global world, the need of communication with other countries and the need of transmitting knowledge, culture and many other issues bring out the necessity of knowing a language that will enable people to communicate all over the world. English language stands out as the Lingua Franca, the common medium of communication of that global world. Taking this into consideration, there have been many efforts in Turkey to teach and learn English. In Turkey there have been many problems in teaching and learning a foreign language more specifically English. Despite too many efforts to take over this problem, it is still hard to say it is done. Many surveys and proposals have been done on this subject each one focusing on a different issue as a reason for the problems in teaching and learning English. This study is a compilation work that brings together many different theses, articles, reports, surveys taking the same problem from different points. Although they point to different aspects of the problem, all these aspects emphasize the lack of a well-built language teaching policy and a well-designed plan for the application of the language teaching program across the state. A large scale of literature review on the issue has been done going back to 1990s. A compiled resolution has been offered making comparisons between the studies, pointing to their similarities and differences. As a result it can be said that Turkey’s efforts to enhance the English teaching and learning problem seem to fail as it ignores the realities of the country while making the new policy. Turkey should take a step to revise its English teaching policy because all the other surface problems are the results of that lacking policy and while revising its policy it shouldn’t ignore its own cultural, social and economic background and it should also take the international standards into consideration. Keywords: teaching and learning English, suffering, efforts, compilation work, Turkey, teaching policy 3rd ISNITE 2015 International Symposium’ ‘New Issues on Teacher Education’ ‘September 11-13, 2015, University of Thessaly, Volos-Greece 189 Historical Development of Teacher Training Models in Turkey Zehra Köseoğlu [email protected] This study aimed to examine works having been done on teacher training since the Ottoman State. In the study, all the teacher training models having been applied since first teacher training works were put forward by examining documents and legal texts. First teacher types doing formal education works in the Ottomans: ‘Teachers’ teaching at Ottoman Primary Schools and ‘professors’ teaching at madrasahs. Western type of schools started to be opened first in the military area at the end of the 1700s and teachers of these schools were generally brought from abroad in those years. After the opening of the first western style civilian school in 1847, ‘School of Secondary Teacher Training (Darulmuallimin-i Rushdi)’ was opened on March 16th, 1848. Later, the ‘Boys' School of Primary Teacher Training (Darulmuallimin-i Sibyan 1868)’ was opened to train primary school teachers, the ‘Girls' School of Teacher Training (Darülmuallimat-1870)’ was founded to train teachers for girls' secondary schools and primary schools, the ‘Menşe-i Muallimin (1875) was established to train civilian teachers for military schools and the 'Higher School of Teacher Training (Büyük Öğretmen Okulu) (1877)’ was opened to train teachers for high schools. Moreover, in the Republican period, starting from 1934 on, with the aim of benefiting from privates trained in the army as teachers when they went back to their villages, Instructor Courses, and starting from 1937 on, Village Instructor Hostels were opened. Later these were named as Village Institutions. However, starting from 1947 on, the course programs and curricula of these schools were modified. Works to be done by their graduates were regulated again and in 1953 they were turned into Primary Teacher Training Schools. The teacher need of secondary schools was met for a long time with a school founded in 1926 in Konya and then starting from 1927 moved to Ankara and was given the name of «Gazi Secondary Teacher Training School». As a matter of fact, despite many negative evaluations, the modifications made in 1974 reflected a situation in which the numerical aspect of the need for teachers in Turkey decreased but instead its quality aspect started to be determined and new models were sought. Starting from 1982 on, the two-year Education Institutions, whose number was decreased to 17 in 1981, the Education Vocational High Schools and the three-year Education Institutions were increased to 4 years and connected to Universities under the name of «Education Faculties». Hence, after the crisis period between 1974 and 1982, the matter of teacher training in Turkey reached a new stage which we can call «universitization of teaching». It can be stated that the models tested today are carried out within this framework. Keywords: Turkey, teacher, teacher training, school
