This study has the main objective of evaluating the effectiveness of the writing component of the program applied at the Department of Basic English (DBE) and the Department of Modern Languages (DML) at Middle East Technical University (METU) in the 2010-2011 academic year in terms of program objectives, materials and content, teaching-learning process and the assessment of the writing skills. The opinions of the DBE and DML instructors, program coordinators and students as well as the content course instructors at different departments at METU were mainly obtained via questionnaires and interviews. The data collected via the questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS 15 while the analysis of all the qualitative data was done though content analysis. The results of the questionnaires indicated that the writing components of the program at the DBE and the DML were generally effective as for the dimensions of the programs as specified in the research questions from the perspective of instructors and students. However, the qualitative data revealed participants&rsquo / suggestions for the improvement of the existing writing programs at both departments. Some of the major conclusions that can be drawn from DBE students&rsquo / and instructors&rsquo / suggestions are as follows: There is a need to switch the focus from discourse-level writing to more freewriting practices through more student-centered activities / the materials should be more visually attractive / the assessment procedure applied to test students&rsquo / writing ability in the mid-terms should be standardized and the writing tasks as tested in the English Proficiency Exam (EPE) should be focused on in writing classes. On the other hand, as for the writing program at the DML, the need for the diversification of the writing genres, topics and the citation rules covered in the ENG 101 and ENG 102 courses depending on students&rsquo / departments was emphasized by the DML participants. Similarly, DBE participants underlined the need for departmentrelated content in writing materials. Also, the content course instructors agreed that the writing program applied at the DBE and the DML should be department-specific. In other words, this study displayed the necessity to conduct a needs analysis aiming to reveal DBE and DML students&rsquo / writing needs for their departments.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the seventh grade students&rsquo / mathematics self efficacy, mathematics anxiety, attitudes towards mathematics, and mathematics achievements regarding gender and school type. Moreover, the role of three personal constructs (self efficacy, anxiety and attitude) and two demographics (gender and school type) on predicting mathematics achievement were also investigated. The Data was collected from 13 elementary schools in &Ccedil / ankaya District of Ankara in spring semester of 2010-2011 academic years. The total of 934 seventh grade students (477 female and 457 male) participated in the study. The participants were given three self reports / Mathematics Self Efficacy Scale (MSES), Mathematics Anxiety Scale (MANX) and Mathematics Attitude Scale (MAS), in order to quantify the levels of mathematics self efficacy, anxiety and attitude towards mathematics, respectively. Besides, Level Determination Exam (LDE) 2010 Mathematics Subtest Scores of participants were used to determine the students&rsquo / mathematics achievement. Causal comparative and correlation research design were used in this study. In addition, two way ANOVA and multiple regression analysis were performed to examine the data. Two way ANOVA results yielded that there was no interaction effect of gender and school type on personal constructs and mathematics achievement. Moreover, gender had significant main effect on each variable whereas school type had only main effect on attitude. Regression analyses revealed that four of the independent variables (self efficacy, anxiety, attitude and gender) were significantly correlated with the dependent variable (achievement). In addition, it was found that all the variables other than school type were significant predictor of achievement.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Curriculum and Instruction. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Not available / text

Not available / text

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Speech and Hearing Sciences / Master / Master of Science in Audiology

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.