USEFULITY ANALYSIS OF BIOLOGY EDUCATION UNDERGRADUATE COURSES IN TEACHING PROFESSION

Abstract

The undergraduate education program given depending on the higher education programs is an important factor in the teacher's professional life. Common programs determined by YÖK are applied to teacher candidates in education faculties. The aim of this study is to measure the contribution of the courses in the program to biology teachers in their professional life and to produce new alternatives in the light of the data obtained. In this context, a Likert-type questionnaire consisting of three separate courses as "Vocational Courses", "Field Education Courses", "General Culture Courses" and containing approximately 40 different courses was prepared by taking the expert opinion. Participants were asked to rate the lessons according to the importance of contribution in professional life. Participants consist of biology teachers who are graduates of Faculty of Education and Faculty of Science, who work effectively in their professional life. Participants were reached through digital media and this study was conducted with approximately 160 teachers. According to the study data, among the Vocational Knowledge Courses, the most beneficial lesson is "Teaching Practice". Most of the participants think that this course makes a positive contribution to their professional life. Accordingly, the course hours of this course can be increased. Educational sciences courses are generally carried out theoretically in faculties other than this course, but as can be seen, the effect of applied courses is also great. When looking at the courses that made the most contribution in the "Field Education Courses" section, "General Biology Laboratory", "Zoology Laboratory" and "General Biology" were seen. However, herbarium studies have been proposed in "Cryptogamea" and other plant lessons. It is recommended to add "Field Studies", which is generally accepted as an application within the course in departments, to the curriculum as a course. In the last section, "General Culture Courses", the most contributing course is "Information Technologies Course". In our changing and developing world, this result can be predicted since we cannot consider information technologies and education separately.