One of the most common challenges expressed by classroom teachers in mathematics teaching and in the literature is the concretisation of abstract concepts in teaching basic subjects. Lego MoreToMath is a training set focusing on the mathematical lesson gains of elementary school first and second grade students. The aim of this study is to enable teachers to experience Lego MoreToMath, which is a combination of building toys and educational software, by using the summer camp as a TÜBİTAK 4005 project. The study was conducted with 25 classroom teachers and their opinions were taken during the 1-week training process. Data were collected through observation and interview techniques by keeping field notes. In the study, a descriptive analysis approach was used as the data analysis technique. The teachers stated that using a different approach in mathematics teaching developed them professionally and they wanted to use such approaches in their lessons.Keywords: Educational software, fluency, hands-on material, problem-solving, reasoning.*

This article aims to understand the attitudes, mediating and monitoring behaviors of parents related to the digital games played by their children. For this qualitative research, 30 parents answered 14 open-ended questions. Data analyzed descriptively. The data were analyzed with respect to the research questions and the analysis showed that the findings could be grouped into three themes: attitudes, monitoring, and mediating. The findings of the study demonstrated that parents thought that educational games developed their children mentally, developed their critical thinking skills, enabled them to follow up on how to benefit of those games, and developed their imagination. The research findings revealed that parents limited the time that their children spent with digital games; tried to be careful with regard to their children's choices of digital games; and had positive attitudes toward educational games, but not others. The results implicated that parents need to raise their digital parenting approach. It should be noted that digital parenting does not mean parents to play more digital games. Instead of that it provides them to teach their children the risks and gains that may face in digital games.

The aim of this research is to systematically review the theses on educational robotics applications produced in Turkey between the years 2010–2021. The aim is to provide a broad perspective on current studies by revealing the existing situation in the literature. For this purpose, 124 postgraduate theses in the national thesis database were examined within the scope of the research. The theses were analysed using the content analysis method and the educational robotics publication classification form. According to the results of the research, most theses were carried out in 2019 and educational robotics was mostly studied in the master's theses. Experimental design with the quantitative method and the quasi‐experimental pre‐test post‐test control group was widely used as research methods. Research in the theses was mostly conducted in secondary schools. The implementations lasted between 1 and 2 months (6–8 weeks). The size of the study groups were 31–100 and the sample selection was appropriate for its purpose. Lego sets and Arduino sets were used the most in information technologies and software and science courses. The proposals sections of the theses suggest that future research should carry out studies with longer‐term implementations and larger sample groups. For practitioners, the theses suggest that robotics‐based activities should be added to the curriculum in every age group. They emphasize the need for a STEM‐based robotics course for teachers as an in‐service training course and that it would be beneficial to have robotics workshops in schools. The results obtained from the study are discussed in detail. The video abstracts for this article are available at https://youtu.be/rv9xiGxF4Uc and https://youtu.be/lXctWfpey5E.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the use of the activity-based LEGO MoretoMath manipulative (concrete and virtual materials) affects students’ problem solving, fluency, understanding and reasoning skills during math lessons. A case study was conducted as an after-school project with seven second grade students were included in the study group (four boys and three girls). Data collection tools included interview protocols, observation forms, and student worksheets. Data were collected from students and their parents to ensure validity in the study. Finally, data were analyzed descriptively. Findings revealed that students performance was above 85%. Solving questions with both software and physical materials made the learning process easy. Students socialized, sharing opinions and solutions. Parents reported that using this educational tool enhanced students’ creativity while learning abstract concepts and provided opportunities for regular communication and cooperative group work in class. As a result, students learned alternative ways to solve problems, enhancing their problem solving skills and math fluency. Constructing physical models with LEGO materials and MathBuilder software also made it easier for them to understand abstract concepts. The suggestions presented through this study are important and pave the way to using both hands-on materials and 3D software for abstract concepts teaching in the classroom.  

Dünya Sağlık Örgütü (WHO, 2020) tarafından Mart 2020 tarihi itibariyle Covid-19 virüsünün neden olduğu pandemi dünya geneline ilan edilmiş ve pek çok ülkede yüz yüze eğitim faaliyetleri durdurularak acil uzaktan eğitim sürecine geçilmiştir. Öğretmenler bu süreçte eşzamanlı canlı derslerle veya asenkron derslerle Öğrenme Yönetim sistemleri (ÖYS) üzerinden tüm öğrenme faaliyetlerini gerçekleştirmişlerdir. Bu süreçte öğretmenlerin uzaktan eğitimin doğası gereği bazı yeterlilikler ve becerilere sahip olmaları gerekmiştir. Bu çalışmada, öğretmen adaylarının uzaktan eğitimde öğretmen (öğretici) rollerinin hangilerine ne düzeyde sahip olduklarının, ayrıca, kendilerini hazır hissettikleri veya geliştirmeye ihtiyaç duydukları becerilerin anlaşılması amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda araştırmada karma yöntem araştırmalarından paralel desen kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın örneklemini 2020-2021 eğitimöğretim yılı güz döneminde bir devlet üniversitesinde öğrenim gören 47 öğretmen adayı oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın nicel verileri Kavrat ve Türel'in (2013) geliştirdiği Çevrimiçi Uzaktan Eğitimde Öğretmen Rollerini ve Yeterliliklerini Belirleme Ölçeği kullanılarak, nitel boyutu ise Aydın'ın (2017) geliştirmiş olduğu yedi başlıktan oluşan Uzaktan Öğretici Yeterlik Boyutları Modeli referans alınarak hazırlanan görüşme sorularıyla elde edilmiştir. Elde edilen nicel veriler frekans ve yüzdeyle ifade edilmiş, nitel veriler ise Nvivo 12 programında içerik analiziyle kodlanarak temalaştırılmıştır. Bulgular nitel ve nicel verilerin birlikte değerlendirilerek analizi sonucunda raporlanmış ve yorumlanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgular incelendiğinde; öğretmen adaylarının teknolojik, değerlendirici ve yönetsel rollerde kendilerini yetkin görseler de bu rollerde halen geliştirmeye ihtiyaç duydukları becerilerinin olduğu görülmüştür. Sosyal, pedagojik, kolaylaştırıcı ve öğretim tasarlayıcı rollerde ise öğretmen adaylarının kendilerini yetkin buldukları sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Etkili bir uzaktan öğretimde öğrenme süreci sürdürebilmeleri için öğretmen adaylarının geliştirilmeye açık