European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │ Issue 10 │ 2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.996497 THE INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS' BELIEFS TOWARDS LEARNING AND BELIEFS TOWARDS THE STANDARD TESTS İsmail Kinay1, Kasım Karataş2 Assistant Prof. Dr., Department of Educational Sciences, 1 Curriculum and Instruction, Ziya Gökalp Faculty of Education, Dicle University, Turkey 2 Res. Asst., Department of Educational Sciences, Curriculum and Instruction, Ziya Gökalp Faculty of Education, Dicle University, Turkey Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between teachers' beliefs toward learning and beliefs toward standard tests. During the study, correlational survey research model, one of the research models, is adopted. As data collection tool; "Belief Scale Towards Learning" and "Beliefs About Standardized Tests Scale" is used. Data is collected from 659 different branches of teachers, 306 female and 353 male. For analyzing the data; descriptive statistical analyzing methods and correlation-regression analysis are used. According to the findings, it is determined that teachers’ beliefs towards constructivist learning are higher than the beliefs towards traditional learning. Secondly, it’s determined that there is a positive and significant relationship between beliefs towards traditional learning and beliefs towards standard tests. Furthermore, it’s found that there is negative and significant relationship between beliefs towards standard tests and beliefs towards constructivist learning. Finally, it’s determined that the beliefs toward traditional and constructivist learning are significant predictor of beliefs toward standard tests. Keywords: constructivism, standard tests, beliefs. Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 159 İsmail Kinay, Kasım Karataş THE INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS' BELIEFS TOWARDS LEARNING AND BELIEFS TOWARDS THE STANDARD TESTS 1. Introduction Learning is an indispensable subjective action to understand facts and events for the individual. It depends on many effects. Though discussions made on the relevant topics by experts who take on what these factors are, it is considered that the most basic tool of learning is "knowledge" and that the individual's developmental level and social and cultural experiences are influential in the process of obtaining information (Von Glaserfeld, 1995). Selvi (2013) defines the learning as a means of forming meaning and explanation based on the interaction between knowing and known. He also emphasizes the need to remove the obstacles in front of the process of making meaning, so that the individual will act on learning perceptions and increase perceived power. From this point, there are many elements that affect the learning of the individual. Bandura defines learning as a process based on the interaction between personal, behavioral and environmental factors. Personal factors include beliefs and behaviors that influence learning in particular responses to behavioral and environmental stimuli; Behavioral factors include the reactions that the individual generates in a given situation; Environmental factors include roles that parents, teachers, and friends act (Bruning, Schraw & Norby, 2014). Woolfolk (2015) also argues that individuals may have a belief in knowledge and learning that affecting the overall strategy they use in the learning process. In this context, it is thought that the perception, motivation and level of belief in learning are the most important components of the process of making sense, depending on the self-evaluation judgments. The level of belief and motivation to learn about the individual's needs, goals, interests, feelings is affected. Teachers are expected to organize the learning-teaching process by considering these situations. At this point, teachers' beliefs about learning; the professional role of the learning process and the educational strategies and practices it monitors is affected (Kagan, 1992, Waters-Adams, 2006, Vanderbilt, 2008). Teachers are expected to adopt a student-centered approach that best suits constructivist mind with their professional knowledge, awareness and skills (Duru, 2014). Because constructivist mind takes into consideration cognitive structures and experiences of students, individual differences and socio-cultural characteristics, new knowledge and experiences, deductions and evaluations are built on this basis (Hanley, 1994). Constructivist approach builds all the constructivist theories such as social constructivism, radical constructivism, cognitive constructivism, experience as an endogenous meaning together with the internalization process of this meaning and argues that knowledge is structured socially (von Glasersfeld, 1995; Vygotsky, 1978). European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 10 │ 2017 160 İsmail Kinay, Kasım Karataş THE INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS' BELIEFS TOWARDS LEARNING AND BELIEFS TOWARDS THE STANDARD TESTS It’s predicted that teachers, having constructive learning beliefs, are suggested to organize the learning-teaching process in the context of constructivist principle, to focus on designing the program with deductive method and emphasize the general concepts, to keep the program work with materials based on primary resources and skill development, to organize the learning environment for the students with an interactive attitude, to observe the performance of the activities in the evaluation of the students, to evaluate the exhibition and product files (Brooks & Brooks, 1999). In the traditional understanding, the teacher is at the focus of teaching studies as the source of information and the lessons, programs, homeworks, lesson hours and similar situations are arranged without considering the interests and needs of the child (Kafadar, 1997). In the traditional approach, education is in the form of teacher - student - information triangle, teacher is in the position of transferring the knowledge and the student is in the position of getting the knowledge. Therefore, in this approach student is not active in making the knowledge meaningful (Özden, 2011). Finally, assessment of students is seen as a separate process from teaching and evaluations are made through standard tests (Brooks & Brooks, 1999). While traditional teacher assesses students by looking at their learning outcomes, constructivist teachers often use process-based methods to track student development (Duru, 2012). It is seen that the teaching - learning processes of the traditional and constructivist methods, which constitutes the basis of belief in learning in general terms, is divided into basic points and differences are found. One of these fundamental differences is related to the measurement and evaluation processes. Through the evaluation of the education process, information about the expected level of target behavior, the effectiveness of the program, the identification of learning deficiencies and the student achievement status are acquired (Turgut & Baykul, 2011). One of the most important parameters that give clues to the effectiveness of the education process is the student achievement level. Methods of obtaining information on student achievement levels, in other words, measurement and evaluation situations based on the adopted learning approach. In traditional methods, the assessment of student success is usually dealt with in a way that focuses more on the product than on the teaching process; for this purpose, more emphasis is given to written- verbal examination and multiple choice-short answer tests. In traditional assessment, it is desirable to solve problems without seeking help from anyone, without consulting anyone or applying to resources in a limited period of time. But learners solve the problem by receiving of their friends' support, ideas, or resources, without a time limitation to solve the problems they face in everyday life (Fer, 2011). As this problemsolving approaches are more appropriate for students at the point of adopting and internalizing constructivist principles, getting meaningful learning according to real European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 10 │ 2017 161 İsmail Kinay, Kasım Karataş THE INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS' BELIEFS TOWARDS LEARNING AND BELIEFS TOWARDS THE STANDARD TESTS life, being a part of learning process of mutual responsibility and social deal, processing information structures with self-awareness process, learners need the support of learning attitudes (Driscoll, 2005). In accordance with this necessity, it develops as an obligation to make assessment and evaluation based on constructivist mind in the nature of the process. Because in the constructivist learning approach, assessment and evaluation are part of the teaching process and take place at every important point throughout the learning process, not just at the beginning and end of the learning. As it emphasis on the process, it requires the use of more measurement tools and methods than the old approach (Gelbal & Kelecioğlu, 2007). For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/1058 European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 10 │ 2017 162