Fatma Coştu

The purpose of this study is to examine 7th-grade gifted students’ awareness of the factors contributing to global warming and their behaviors related to mitigating it. In line with this aim, a sequential explanatory design, one of the mixed-methods research approaches, was employed. The study group consisted of 168 7th-grade students attending three Science and Art Centers (SAC) in Istanbul. Data was collected using a global warming awareness questionnaire and a semi-structured interview form. Quantitative data was first analyzed using descriptive statistics, and qualitative interviews were subsequently conducted to provide contextual explanations and deeper insights into selected quantitative findings. The two datasets were integrated at the interpretation stage by comparing convergent and complementary patterns across the quantitative and qualitative findings. The findings indicate that gifted students are more aware of environmental problems related to pollution, air pollution, and waste; however, their understanding of concepts such as the greenhouse effect and global warming is relatively weak. Gifted students reported that behaviors such as not littering, donating unused items, and planting trees could help reduce global warming. Nevertheless, they were generally unable to clearly associate red meat consumption and summer air-conditioning use with global warming. Qualitative findings highlight the need for community-based activities focused on environmental issues and environmental protection. The qualitative findings complemented these results by showing that students tended to conceptualize global warming through concrete and familiar consequences, such as increasing temperature, climate change, pollution, and melting glaciers, while demonstrating limited understanding of its underlying mechanisms. Students also emphasized the importance of individual actions, community-based environmental activities, and adult participation in addressing global warming. Overall, the results suggest that gifted students not only lack sufficient knowledge about global warming and related scientific mechanisms but also struggle to translate their existing knowledge into action. Accordingly, it is recommended that teachers implement concrete, hands-on, and interdisciplinary learning activities, supported by visual materials, real-world examples, and documentaries, to strengthen students’ conceptual understanding and promote environmentally responsible behaviors. Keywords: Environmental education, environmental awareness, climate change, global warming, views of gifted students

This study aims to identify the specific difficulties gifted students encounter when constructing graphs related to the concept of solubility—a skill central to scientific thinking and data interpretation. A qualitative case study design, allowing for an in-depth examination of gifted students’ graph-drawing processes, was utilized. A total of 64 gifted middle school students were presented with tabulated data showing the solubility of five chemical compounds in water at various temperatures and were asked to draw corresponding solubility–temperature graphs. Students’ graphs were analyzed using the Temiz and Tan (2009) graph-drawing rubric, which consists of nine qualitative criteria addressing key components of graph construction. The analysis focused on identifying patterns, recurring errors, and qualitative characteristics of students’ graphing performances. The findings revealed that many gifted students struggled with key components of graph construction, particularly scaling and labeling the axes, accurately placing data points, and connecting them appropriately. Only a small percentage of students fully met all criteria, indicating that graphing difficulties persist even among high-ability learners. These results underscore the importance of explicitly teaching graphing skills, which are often overlooked in gifted education. The study contributes to the limited body of research on gifted students’ graphical representational skills, specifically their ability to visually represent and organize scientific data through graphs, and provides insights for designing targeted instructional interventions to enhance their scientific process competencies.

Outdoor learning offers dynamic, real-world educational opportunities that extend beyond traditional classrooms and foster sustainability awareness. This quantitative study endeavors to assess teachers’ competency in facilitating outdoor learning, aiming for a more engaging and impactful introduction. Employing a relational survey design in the form of a multi-survey model, the research engaged 586 teachers representing diverse academic disciplines across public and private elementary and secondary schools. Central to the investigation was the utilization of the “Outdoor Learning Regulation Scale [OLRS]” as the primary data collection instrument. The evaluation of teachers’ aptitude in regulating outdoor learning encompassed various variables, including gender, subject specialization, prior online or in-person training in outdoor learning, use of non-school environments for teaching, childhood environment, and teaching location. To analyze the collected data, a nuanced approach to statistical analysis was undertaken, aiming to provide a clearer and more specific explanation of the data analysis methods employed. The findings of the study unveiled no significant disparities in teachers’ outdoor learning regulation capabilities based on gender, subject specialization, childhood environment, or teaching location. However, discernible differences surfaced in their proficiency in outdoor learning regulation concerning previous online or in-person training in outdoor learning and their utilization of outdoor environments for teaching, thus providing deeper insights into the factors shaping teachers’ efficacy in facilitating outdoor learning experiences. Additionally, the study emphasizes the link between outdoor learning and sustainability education. By equipping teachers with the skills to regulate outdoor learning, this research supports the integration of sustainability into educational practices, promoting students’ ecological awareness and sustainable thinking. These results highlight the importance of professional development and targeted training in outdoor education, with direct implications for strengthening sustainability-oriented teaching practices.

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the Predict‐Explain‐Observe‐Discuss‐Explain (PEODE)‐based laboratory on enhancing the verbal and figural creativity of gifted students. The quasi‐experimental research design utilised a pre‐ and post‐test approach with a non‐equivalent control group, consisting of 60 sixth‐grade gifted students. The participants were randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group (EG; n = 30) and the control group (CG; n = 30). During the study, the control group underwent traditional laboratory tasks, whereas the experimental group participated in PEODE‐based laboratory tasks. Both groups engaged in laboratory work for a total of 16 h. Data were collected using the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) scale, and statistical analysis methods were applied. The results revealed significant differences in favour of the EG regarding both verbal and figural creativity. These findings suggest that the PEODE‐based laboratory approach can effectively enhance the creative abilities of gifted students.

Ensuring nationwide adherence to fundamental values disseminated through educational platforms like TRT EBA TV, administered by the Ministry of National Education, holds paramount importance. The study utilized document analysis method. A total of 27 teaching videos on TRT EBA TV for 5th to 8th graders were analyzed. The findings revealed that although the teaching videos addressed some of the ten root values, they did not fully encompass all of them. Nonetheless, the study highlighted that despite the abstract nature of science lessons, the root values are predominantly emphasized. This indicates the feasibil-ity of integrating values education into science disciplines. Furthermore, the study offers recommenda-tions for effectively enhancing students' acquisition of these ten root values.