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Turkish and Singaporean Pre-service Physics Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Use of Technology

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Abstract

Beliefs about pedagogy and the use of technology affect the integration ICT in classrooms. This comparative study explores the pedagogical beliefs of pre-service physics teachers from two different cultures and examines the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about constructivist and traditional teaching and their related beliefs about the use of technology. This study was conducted with 115 Turkish and 90 Singaporean pre-service physics teachers. The results indicate that both Turkish and Singaporean pre-service physics teachers tend to believe in constructivist teaching which are aligned with their respective countries reform efforts. However, there is a significant difference between Turkish and Singaporean pre-service physics teachers in terms of constructivist use of technology beliefs. According to the results of this study more efforts are needed to insure that ICT is used more productively to support the teaching of physics in a constructivist manner and to create more effective physics classes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

    Deniz Gurcay

  2. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

    Benjamin Wong & Ching Sing Chai

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  1. Deniz Gurcay
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  2. Benjamin Wong
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  3. Ching Sing Chai
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Correspondence to Deniz Gurcay.

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Gurcay, D., Wong, B. & Chai, C.S. Turkish and Singaporean Pre-service Physics Teachers’ Beliefs about Teaching and Use of Technology. Asia-Pacific Edu Res 22, 155–162 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-012-0008-2

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