Learning Model Based On Democratic Life

Our research aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the democracy and human rights course taught with a “Learning Model Based on Democratic Life.” The study was conducted with an action research design. The research study group, determined using purposeful sampling, consisted of 10 students taking a Democracy and Human Rights course at a state university in Turkey. Data were collected using “Process Evaluation Forms” and “Student Letters.” Content analysis was used in the analysis of the data. We concluded that the students thought the Learning Model Based on Democratic Life supported their participation, was efficient and interesting, contributed to the formation of a democratic classroom environment, and enabled them to learn democracy in democratic ways

Din Kültürü ve Ahlak Bilgisi Dersi Öğrenme Öğretme Süreçlerinin Öğrenci Merkezli Anlayışa Göre Düzenlenmesi

The purpose of this study is forming an example case about how can the Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge courses be arranged according to student-centered approach. The study was applied on to the 4th grade of a secondary school in Düzce which is located in the western Black Sea region of Turkey with a population of 390,000 during 2014-2015 academic year. The researcher was working as a teacher at this school. The study was carried out with the ‘action research’ technique. Reflective diaries and activity evaluation forms were used as the data collection tools. Data analysis was done simultaneously with data collection. Content analysis method was used while data were analyzed. Student-centered education performed for 12 class hours, and missing aspects of the education were determined and corrected. After that, another lecture series was performed for 8 class hours. Results of the course applications were evaluated and some suggestions were developed at the end of the research.Bu araştırmanın amacı, Din Kültürü ve Ahlak Bilgisi dersi konularının öğrenci merkezli eğitim anlayışına göre nasıl düzenlenebileceği konusunda bir örnek oluşturmaktır. Araştırma, 2014-2015 eğitim-öğretim yılında Türkiye’nin Batı Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yer alan 390.000 nüfuslu Düzce ilinde bulunan bir ortaokulun 4. sınıfı ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırmacı, bu okulda öğretmenlik yapmaktadır. Araştırma, eylem araştırması yöntemi ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veri toplama araçları olarak yansıtıcı günlükler ve etkinlik değerlendirme formları kullanılmıştır. Veri analizleri, veri toplama ile eş zamanlı olarak yürütülmüştür. Verilerin yorumlanmasında içerik analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. 12 ders saati boyunca öğrenci merkezli ders uygulamaları gerçekleştirilmiş, uygulamaların eksik yönleri belirlenerek gerekli düzenlemeler yapıldıktan sonra 8 saatlik yeni ders uygulamaları gerçekleştirilmiştir. Araştırma sonunda uygulama sonuçları değerlendirilmiş ve öğrenci merkezli uygulamalarla ilgili bazı öneriler geliştirilmiştir

EVALUATION OF THE SEATING ARRANGEMENTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS THROUGH MULTIPLE PERSPECTIVES

Seating arrangement in classrooms plays a crucial role for the effectiveness of curriculum implementation. This multi-case pattern intertwined case study aimed to investigate the ongoing seating arrangements in language classrooms of middle schools with a focus on stakeholders (students, teachers, principals and janitors) perspectives. Two types of data were collected in this process. The data for the physical appearances of classrooms were collected through observation form and analyzed via descriptive analysis technique. The interview data gathered through semi-structured interview forms were analyzed through the content analysis technique. Findings revealed that language branch classrooms were not available and that classrooms had classic-row layout with cumbersome desks and deficient free space. Some curricular objectives and communicative activities were at odds with the ongoing seating arrangement, and therefore, skipped by teachers. Cluster and horseshoe layouts, cherished by students, were practiced to align the layout with the curricular objectives, though some reactions emerged.  Article visualizations

Effects of Teaching a Learning Psychology Course in Different Ways on the Students’ Success and Attitudes

The aim of this study is to determine the effect of teaching a learning psychology course in different ways on students’ academic success and attitudes towards the course. The experimental research method was used in this research. The participants were students in the second year of a psychological counseling and guidance program in a state university in Turkey. The data were collected by Learning Psychology Course Achievement Test and student letters. ANOVA, Kruskal Wallis and Wilcoxon Signed Rows test were used in the analysis. Student letters were analyzed through content analysis. In first group, the lecturer taught the class interactively each week with the presentations prepared by the researchers. In the second group, no lectures were made in this group. At the beginning of the lesson each week, students were given the outputs of the presentations and the lesson was carried out with two activities each week. In the third group, the flipped learning model was applied in this group. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the standard deviation was smaller in the group in which the flipped learning model was applied compared to the other two groups

Teachers’ Adoptation Level of Student Centered Education Approach

The aim of this study is to identify how far the student centered education approach is applied in the primary, middle and high schools in Düzce. Explanatory design which is one type of mixed research methods and “sequential mixed methods sampling” were used in the study. 685 teachers constitute the research sample of the quantitative phase of the study and 13 teachers constitute the research sample of the qualitative phase of the study. The quantitative data were collected using “Student Centered Education Scale” and the qualitative data of the study were collected by semi-structured interview form. Mann Whitney U test was applied to determine if the level of adaptation of student centered education approach vary in terms of gender. Kruskal Wallis test was performed so as to see whether teachers’ adaptation level of student centered education approach vary in terms of seniority and the type of school (primary, middle and high school) they work at. Qualitative data were analyzed by means of content analysis method. The quantitative findings of the study present that teachers’ adaptation level of student centered education is “high” whereas the qualitative findings reveal that the teachers still adopt a teacher centered education in terms of “Planning”, “Application” and “Assessment”. The findings of the study reveal that teachers’ adaptation level of student centered education is not significant in terms of gender and seniority; teachers’ adaptation level of student centered education decreases from the primary school to high school, and the perception of teachers in terms of practicability of student centered education is not positive. Some suggestions were developed based on the result of the study. Keywords: student centered education, student centered education approach, teacher perceptions, planning, application, assessmen

Estimating diameter at breast height (DBH) from diameter at stump height (DST) in triple mixed stands in the region of Artvin in Turkey

This study was supported by the Scientific Research Projects Unit of Karadeniz Technical University under Project KTU 2009.113.001.6.Diameter at breast height is used as an independent variable in the calculation of most tree or stand parameters because it can be measured easily and has high correlation with tree variables. But, it is necessary to estimate the size of the DBH of the tree concerned to have knowledge of the tree which has been separated from the area. In this study, DST-DBH relationships were investigated on stands where Oriental Spruce (So), Scots Pine (Ps) and Eastern Black sea Fir (Fb) were mixed. For this purpose, 206 trees (69 So, 69 Ps and 68 Fb) were used which were cut from 23 different sample areas taken in fully closed SoPsFb and PsSoFb stands in Artvin. According to the statistics analysis; models that best explain the variability of the DBH are power for spruce, quadratic for pine and linear models for fir. These models can explain the variance of DBH in triple mixed stands by 95.2% for spruce, 96.5% for pine and 96.4% for fir, and standard errors of models are 1.850, 1.598 and 1.643 respectively. As a result, these models, which at a certain height of success in predicting DBH, can be used by practitioners at fully closed triple mixed stands in Artvin.Göğüs çapı, kolay ölçülebilir olması ve diğer ağaç değişkenleriyle yüksek korelasyona sahip olmasından dolayı, tek ağaç veya meşcere parametrelerinin birçoğunun hesaplanmasında bağımsız bir değişken olarak kullanılmaktadır. Ancak ormanlık alandan ayrılmış olan ağaç hakkında bilgi sahibi olabilmek için göğüs çapı büyüklüğünü tahmin etmek gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmada, Doğu Ladini (L), Sarıçam (Çs) ve Doğu Karadeniz Göknarı (G) karışık meşcerelerinde göğüs çapı-kütük çapı ilişkisi araştırılmıştır. Bu amaçla Artvin’de tam kapalı olan LÇsG ve ÇsLG meşcerelerinden alınan 23 farklı örnek alandan kesilmiş olan 206 ağaç (69 adet L, 69 adet Çs ve 68 adet G) verisi kullanılmıştır. Yapılan istatistiksel analizlere göre, göğüs çapındaki değişkenliği açıklayan en iyi modeller Ladin’de power, Sarıçamda kuadratik ve Göknarda ise doğrusal modeller olmuştur. Bu modellerin üçlü karışık meşcerlerde göğüs çapı değişkenliğini açıklama oranları Ladin için %95,2, Sarıçam için %96,5 ve Göknar için de %96,4 ve bu modellerin hataları da sırasıyla 1.850, 1.598 ve 1.643 şeklinde bulunmuştur. Sonuç olarak, göğüs çapını tahmin etmede belli başarı seviyesinde olan bu modeller, Artvin’deki tam kapalı üçlü karışık meşcerelerde uygulayıcılar tarafından kullanılabilir olarak bulunmuştur

Modeli biomase stabala kalabrijskog bora u mediteranskom području Turske

The aim of this study was to develop allometric equations for the estimation of above-ground biomass components of Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) tree in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Using regression analysis, different allometric equations were fitted for the tree components of the above-ground biomass using diameter at breast height (dbh) and tree height as estimators. Two hundred and ninety-two trees between 0.4 and 63.0 cm in dbh were randomly sampled throughout 292 natural, pure Calabrian pine stands in Turkey’s Mediterranean Region, where it forms diverse stand structures. Finally, the allometric equations were developed for the tree components of the Calabrian pine tree for the stem, bark, branch, needle and total above-ground biomass. The stem, bark and total biomass equations explained more than 90% of the observed variability, while the branch and needle biomass equations explained 82% and 65%, respectively.Cilj istraživanja bio je razvoj alometrijskih jednadžbi radi procjene nadzemnih sastavnica biomase stabala kalabrijskog bora (Pinus brutia Ten.) u mediteranskom području Turske. Uporabom regresijske analize, dobivene su različite alometrijske jednadžbe za pojedine sastavnice nadzemne biomase stabla. Ukupno je 292 stabla prsnog promjera između 0,4 i 63,0 cm slučajno uzorkovano unutar prirodnog rasprostranjenja Kalabrijskog bora na mediteranskom području Turske, gdje tvori različite sastojinske strukture. Pri modeliranju i određivanju jednadžbi korišteni su prsni promjeri i visine uzorkovanih stabala kao procjenitelji. Dobivene su alometrijski jednadžbe za nadzemnu biomasu stabala Kalabrijskog bora i to zasebno za deblo, koru, grane, iglice i za ukupnu nadzemnu biomasu. Jednadžbe za deblo, koru i ukupnu biomasu objašnjavaju više od 90% ukupne varijabilnosti, dok jednadžbe za biomasu grana i iglica objašnjavaju 82 %, odnosno 65 % od ukupne varijabilnosti

A novel approach to selecting a competition index: the effect of competition on individual-tree diameter growth of Calabrian pine

In this study, we evaluated the performance of 18 competition indices composed of nine distance-dependent and nine distance-independent indices in explaining the variation in individual-tree diameter growth of Calabrian pine (Pinus brutia Ten.) in the central Mediterranean region of Turkey. The data were obtained from 432 sample plots with varying stand age, site index, and stand density. To evaluate the performance of each competition index, the mean square error reduction approach was used relative to the noncompetition. Also, this study compared fixed and mixed effects models to analyze diameter growth. Statistical analyses showed that the best distance-independent competition indices performed as well as the best distance-dependent competition indices. The distance-independent competition index of Schroder and Gadow (1999; Can. J. For. Res. 29(2): 280-283, doi:10.1139/x98-199) performed best and is recommended for use in future growth and yield models to be used in the central Mediterranean region of Turkey. Also, the best selection of competitive neighbors was achieved using the area of influence overlap method, whereas the fixed-radius and angle count sampling methods had no significant improvement in quantifying the competition effects. On the other hand, all mixed effects models provided much better fits than their fixed model counterparts.Dans cette étude, nous évaluons la performance de 18 indices de compétition, comprenant neuf indices dépendants des distances et neuf indices indépendants des distances, pour expliquer la variation de la croissance en diamètre d’individus de pin de Calabre (Pinus brutia Ten.) dans la région méditerranéenne centrale de la Turquie. Les données ont été obtenues de 432 placettes échantillons couvrant une gamme d’âge du peuplement, d’indice de qualité de station et de densité du peuplement. Pour évaluer la performance de chaque indice de compétition, nous avons utilisé l’approche de la réduction de l’erreur quadratique moyenne par rapport à l’absence de compétition. De plus, cette étude compare des modèles à effets fixes et mixtes pour analyser la croissance en diamètre. Les analyses statistiques montrent que les meilleurs indices de compétition indépendants des distances sont aussi performants que les meilleurs indices dépendants des distances. L’indice de compétition indépendant des distances de Schröder et Gadow (1999; Can. J. For. Res. 29(2): 280–283, doi:10.1139/x98-199) est le plus performant et son utilisation est recommandée pour les futurs modèles de croissance et de production qui seront utilisés dans la région méditerranéenne centrale de la Turquie. De plus, la meilleure sélection des arbres voisins concurrents a été réalisée à l’aide la méthode de chevauchement de l’aire d’influence alors que les méthodes à rayon fixe et par balayage sous angle constant n’ont pas significativement amélioré la quantification des effets de compétition. Par ailleurs, tous les modèles à effets mixtes ont produit de bien meilleurs ajustements que les modèles à effets fixes équivalents. [Traduit par la Rédactio

Modeli rasta prirodnih sastojina kalabrijskog bora u središnjem mediteranskom području Turske

Stand growth models are needed for a variety of forestry practices, primarily management plans and silvicultural studies. The goal of this study was to create stand-level models for natural, pure even-aged stands of Calabrian pine in the central Mediterranean region of Turkey. The study area consists of pure and natural Calabrian pine stands located within the boundaries of the Antalya and Mersin Regional Forestry Directorates in the central Mediterranean region of Turkey. Data was collected from 486 temporary plots scattered throughout the region. Two trees (the dominant tree and the tree representing the quadratic mean diameter of the stand) were measured in each plot, yielding 972 trees. The data showed that the age varied from 6 to 135 years, the site index (SI) from 8.5 to 33.5 m, and the density from 0.3 to 12.4. The density-dependent yield tables were generated using regression equations based on stand age, SI, and stand density with individual, two-factor, and three-factor interaction effects. For SI classes I, II, and III, the optimal rotation period that would result in the highest yields for pure Calabrian pine stands is 60, 65, and 75 years, respectively. The stand growth models developed (i.e., density-dependent yield tables) agreed with the fundamental growth principles and data provided in the literature.Modeli rasta sastojina potrebni su za različite prakse u šumarstvu, ponajprije planove gospodarenja i studije uzgoja šuma. Cilj ove studije bio je stvoriti modele na razini sastojina za jednodobne, čiste i prirodne sastojine kalabrijskog bora u središnjem mediteranskom području Turske. Područje istraživanja sastoji se od čistih i prirodnih sastojina kalabrijskog bora, smještenih unutar granica regionalnih uprava za šumarstvo Antalije i Mersina u središnjoj mediteranskoj regiji Turske. Podaci su prikupljeni s 486 privremenih ploha razasutih diljem regije. Dva stabla (dominantno stablo i stablo koje predstavlja kvadratni srednji promjer sastojine) izmjerena su na svakoj plohi, dajući 972 stabla. Podaci su pokazali da je starost varirala od 6 do 135 godina, indeks staništa (SI) od 8,5 do 33,5 m, a gustoća od 0,3 do 12,4. Prirasno-prihodne tablice ovisne o gustoći generirane su korištenjem regresijskih jednadžbi na temelju starosti sastojine, SI i gustoće sastojine s pojedinačnim, dvofaktorskim i trofaktorskim interakcijskim učincima. Optimalno razdoblje ophodnje koje bi rezultiralo najvećim prinosima za čiste sastojine kalabrijskog bora može se odabrati kao 60, 65 i 75 godina za SI klase I, II, odnosno III. Razvijeni modeli rasta sastojine (tj. Prirasno-prihodne tablice ovisne o gustoći) slagali su se s temeljnim zakonima rasta i podacima prikazanim u literaturi

The change of diameter increment percentage in even- aged and pure oriental spruce (Picea orientalis (L.) Link.) stands by age and diameter classes

Trees of diameter increment are known to vary according to the time and the site quality. In this study, we investigated instead of diameter increment for its proportionate percentage of the diameter increment by diameter and age classes. In this analysis, 204 sample plots data were used in the even-aged and pure oriental spruce stands. To examine the percentage change in age classes and diameter classes, the mean values of the 1011 measured diameter and age is used. As a result of a regression analysis, the relationship between the percentage of diameter increment and age classes was found to be about 95%. The relationship between diameter increment percentage and diameter classes was determined about 92%. Both are based on mathematical models derived from the relationship