No abstract

Concept maps measured a student's understanding of the complexity of concepts, and interrelationships. Novak and Gowin (1984) claimed that the continuous use of concept maps increased the complexity and interconnectedness of students' understanding of relationships between concepts in a particular science domain. This study has two purposes; the first one was to test this claim and examine how the repeated use of concept maps affected the complexity and interconnectedness of concepts independent of science subjects in elementary school, the second one was to compare the sensitivity of the Ruiz-Primo et al. (1997), and the Novak and Gowin (1984) grading systems for concept maps. The sample group consisted of 23 students including 14 male and 9 female students. We employed paired sample t-tests to answer the research questions, and found that the scores obtained for the fifth science unit was significantly different from the first one. Also, Novak and Gowin's (1984) scoring system was better than Ruiz-Primo et al. (1997) to evaluate complexity in students' thinking except for one of the units. We conclude that concept maps have the potential to measure change in complexity and interconnectivity of concept maps. Furthermore, repeated use of concept maps has the potential to increase the complexity and interconnectedness of student concept maps, and therefore improve their understanding of science independent of science content.

No abstract

During the school closure in the COVID-19 pandemic, students with special needs including gifted students faced many challenges in terms of educational support. The Turkish Ministry of National Education released a mobile app named “I am special, I am in education” to overcome these challenges. This study aimed to explore how gifted children perceived the experience of learning through this mobile app. Using a phenomenological design, the data were collected from 10 gifted students through focus group interviews and student journals. An inductive approach was used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that although gifted students referred to this experience as weird and different, they also stated that using the app helped their learning. They foregrounded that the app needed improvements and a section for live interaction with other gifted students and teachers to increase their motivation. This study suggests some implications for mobile app developers, educators, and parents.

Bu araştırmada hem özel yetenekli hem de otizm spektrum bozukluğu olan iki kere farklı bireylere yönelik ulusal ve uluslararası alanyazında yer alan çalışmaların sistematik olarak incelenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Bu kapsamda veri tabanları ve anahtar kelimeler belirlenerek taramalar yapılmıştır. Taramalarda ulaşılan çalışmalardan 17 makale dâhil etme ve dışlama kriterleri neticesinde bu araştırmada incelenmek üzere belirlenmiştir. Belirlenen çalışmalar otizmli iki kere farklı bireylerin özellikleri, tanılama süreci, müdahaleler ve aileleri temaları altında incelenmiştir. Araştırmadan elde edilen bulgular otizmli iki kere farklı bireylerin birçok akademik ve bilişsel beceri alanında ortalama üzeri performans sergilemelerine karşın sosyal becerilerde ve iletişim becerilerinde güçlükler yaşadıklarını göstermektedir. Bu bireylerin tanılama süreçlerinde sadece otizm ya da sadece özel yetenek değerlendirmelerinin etkili sonuçlar vermeyebildiği görülmektedir. Bu nedenle çoklu değerlendirme yaklaşımları gerekli görülmektedir. Etkili müdahale yaklaşımları için bu bireylerin güçlü yönlerine odaklanan ve zayıf yönlerini de göz önünde bulunduran yaklaşımlar gereklidir. Elde edilen bulgular alanyazın ışığında tartışılmıştır.