Abstract:

– The purpose of this study was to first determine how middle-school physics teachers in the school system of Turkey’s Izmir Province viewed the 9th Grade Physics textbook that began to be taken up in classes in the 2008-2009 academic year, and then to formulate recommendations after reviewing their assessments in terms of professional experience, participation in on-the-job training programs and the general manner that the book was being used. Making use of a surveying technique, the research focused on a sample of 151 teachers working in the Izmir middle-school system who were teaching 9th grade physics. The data collection tools for the study were an evaluation scale for the textbook that consisted of 131 items, personal information and a questionnaire of supplementary questions, and an interview form. Both quantitative and qualitative data analysis techniques were used in the analysis of the research data. The book was found to be good in the categories of physical characteristics and visuality, and adequate in the content, narrative and language, activities, teaching support and arrangement categories. Teachers were using the book only occasionally and feeling the need for a training program on the school curriculum

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