Investigating lesson plans of teacher candidates according to their selfefficacy levels towards ımplementation of constructivist approach

Abstract

Constructivism defines learning process as students’ construction, interpretation and organization of their knowledge. Teachers’ responsibilities increase as facilitators of this active process. Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs about their ability to guide students’ learning help them fulfill their responsibilities in constructivist environments. Purpose of the study is to examine whether there is a difference between teacher candidates’ constructivist lesson planning skills according to self-efficacy levels. Using a mixedmethodology design, the study group for quantitative data is 124 students, who were reached out of teacher candidates, attending teachers’ certificate program in 2015- 2016 academic year at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University. Five students were selected both from low and strong self-efficacy levels to form the study group for qualitative data. Self-efficacy Perceptions of Teachers about the Implementation of the Constructivist Approach Scale and Lesson Plan Grading Rubric were used to collect data. ANOVA and Welch test for quantitative data and descriptive analysis for qualitative data were employed. Results revealed a significant difference between total points and making students active dimension of lesson plans according to different self-efficacy levels. Recommendations for further research were developed.