studying the tpack levels of primary teachers according to various
Transcription
studying the tpack levels of primary teachers according to various
Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 ISSN 1943-2429 © 2014 Ozean Publication STUDYING THE TPACK LEVELS OF PRIMARY TEACHERS ACCORDING TO VARIOUS VARIABLES: AN EXAMPLE FROM VAN PROVINCE ISMAIL KENAR* & ALI RIZA SEKERCI SUMEYYE BAYTURE** *Faculty of Education, Department of Science Education, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey **Institute of Education, Department of Elementary Education, Dumlupinar University, Kutahya, Turkey *E-mail address for correspondence: fizikkenar@mynet.com __________________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract: Being able to carry out education in an effective and accurate manner depends on many factors, and one of the most important of those factors is the teacher. It is inevitable for teachers to use technology in education in our era, which is also called the age of technology. In integrating technology to education, we come across the subject of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). In this study, the TPACK levels of primary teachers were studied. In addition, the study also examined whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers differ according to various variables (gender, seniority, age, faculty of graduation, having received inservice training on the use of technology, whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient and access to technology). Survey method was used in the study. The study sampling consisted of 155 primary teachers working in a province (Van province) in Eastern Turkey. The data was obtained by using the “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale”, which was originally developed by Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler & Shin (2009) and which was adapted to Turkish language by Ozturk & Horzum (2011), and by using the “Demographic Data Form” developed by the authors. Descriptive statistical analysis, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were used for the analysis of the data. According to the study results, the TPACK levels of primary teachers were high. It was found that there was no statistically significant difference in the TPACK levels of primary teachers according to gender, seniority, age, faculty of graduation, having received in-service training on the use of technology, and access to technology. However, there was a statistically significant difference in the TPACK levels of primary teachers according to whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient. Key words: Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge levels, primary teachers. __________________________________________________________________________________________ 103 Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 INTRODUCTION Technology and technological developments are progressing at an extraordinary pace in every place where humans exist. This progress in technology manifests in areas such as engineering, medicine, law, education etc. The technological developments in the field of education are very important for the development of both the teachers and students. At the present time, there is need for teachers who can guide students in line with the constructivist approach. From the constructivist approach, it is necessary for teachers to have not only the content, pedagogical, and general culture knowledge but also Pedagogical Content Knowledge, which is as important as those three domains of knowledge, as asserted by Shulman (1986, 1987). In addition to that, the teachers must have Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK), which is proposed by Mishra & Koehler (2006) and which is united with technology. TPACK framework was consist of seven knowledge domains by Mishra and Koehler (2006). This seven knowledge domains is technology knowledge (TK), pedagogical knowledge (PK), content knowledge (CK), pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), technological content knowledge (TCK), technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK), technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK). TPACK framework is indicated in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: The technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework. Adapted/adopted from (Koehler, Mishra, & Yahya, 2007, p. 742) Chai, Koh, & Tsai (2013) state that many studies have been made on TPACK in Europe, Asia Pacific and particularly in the USA over the last decade focusing on the TPACK development of teachers or pre-service teachers (Akkoc, 2011; Angeli & Valanides, 2009; Archambault, Wetzel, Foulger, & Williams, 2010; Chai, Koh, & Tsai, 2011; Doering, Veletsianos, Scharber, & Miller, 2009; Graham, Burgoyne, Cantrell, Smith, Clair, & Harris, 2009; Hammond & Manfra, 2009; Jang & Chen, 2010; Harris & Hofer, 2011; Graham, Borup, & Smith, 2012; Khan, 2011; Koehler, Mishra, & Yahya, 2007; Koh, Chai, & Tsai, 2010; Ozmantar, Akkoc, Bingolbali, Demir, & Ergene, 2010; So & Kim, 2009; Tee & Lee, 2011). Although the importance of TPACK increases every day, there are a few studies in literature on the demographics of teachers or pre-service teachers in terms of their TPACK (Bal & Karademir, 2013; Chuang & Ho, 2011; Karal & Kokoc, 2012; Kaya, Ozdemir, Emre, & Kaya, 2011; Koh, Chai, & Tsai, 2010; Konokman Yavuz, Yelken Yanpar, & Tokmak Sancar, 2013; Ozturk, 2013). This study aims at identifying the TPACK levels of primary teachers working in a province in Eastern Turkey and examining their TPACK levels according to various variables, namely gender, seniority, age, faculty of graduation, having received in-service training on the use of technology, whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient, and access to technology. In line with this aim, answers were sought to the following questions: 1. What are the TPACK levels of primary teachers? 104 105 2. Do the TPACK levels of primary teachers show a statistically significant difference according to gender? 3. Do the TPACK levels of primary teachers show a statistically significant difference according to age? 4. Do the TPACK levels of primary teachers show a statistically significant difference according to seniority? 5. Do the TPACK levels of primary teachers show a statistically significant difference according to their access to technology? 6. Do the TPACK levels of primary teachers show a statistically significant difference according to whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient? 7. Do the TPACK levels of primary teachers show a statistically significant difference according to having received in-service training on the use of technology? METHODOLOGY Study Model Survey method was used in the study. This method is used to identify the attitudes, beliefs, views, and knowledge of people on a certain topic. Survey method aims at describing an existing situation (Karasar, 2000). In addition, survey method is used frequently in education because it is multidirectional, efficient and it can be generalized (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003; McMillan & Schumacher, 2010; Yıldırım & Simsek, 2011). Universe and Sampling The study universe consisted of primary teachers working in Van and its districts in Eastern Turkey. The study aimed at reaching the whole universe. However, since the data was obtained on a voluntary basis in the study, the study group consisted of 155 primary teachers working in this province in 2012-2013 school year. The study group was determined through the convenience (ease of access) sampling method, which is one of the nonrandom sampling techniques. Data Collection Tool The data collection tools of the study were the “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale”, which was originally developed by Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler & Shin (2009) and which was adapted to Turkish language by Ozturk & Horzum (2011), and the “Demographic Data Form” developed by the authors. The scale that was adapted to Turkish by Ozturk & Horzum (2011) contains 47 items and 7 factors. This scale is a 5-point Likert scale, which covers the following options: Strongly Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Undecided (3), Agree (4), Strongly Agree (5). The factors of the scale contained “Technology Knowledge (TK)” regarding knowledge on the use of technology (7 items); “Content Knowledge (CK)” regarding knowledge of mathematics, social sciences, science and literacy (12 items); “Pedagogical Knowledge (PK)” regarding knowledge on class management, assessment, plan development, teaching process and methods (7 items); “Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)” regarding content knowledge used in managing the teaching process (4 items); “Technological Content Knowledge (TCK)” regarding how to use the technology in understanding and applying of concepts in special content areas by students (4 items); “Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK)” regarding how to use and which technologies to use with different teaching methods(5 items). Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK) covers 8 items regarding the integration of technology to teaching by teachers. Cronbach’s alpha, which is the coefficient of internal consistency regarding the reliability of the scale, was .82 for TK, .75 for CK, .84 for 105 Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 PK, .85 for PCK, .80 for TCK, .86 for TPK and .92 for the whole scale. Moreover, “Demographic Data Form” developed by the researchers was added to the scale in order to examine the TPACK levels of primary teachers according to various variables, namely gender, seniority, faculty of graduation, having received in-service training on the use of technology, whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient, and access to technology. Two researchers (first and second authors) checked the demographic data form in terms of the conformity of the defined variables to the scale, and the scale was applied after receiving specialist opinions. Data Analysis The study first examined whether the obtained data had a normal distribution. If the value obtained by dividing the coefficient of skewness into the standard error of skewness is between -1.96 and 1.96, then we can accept the distribution is normal (Buyukozturk, 2012; Buyukozturk, Cokluk Bokeoglu & Koklu, 2012; Can, 2013; Field, 2009). By using the SPSS analysis results, the coefficient of skewness was calculated as -1.929, and the standard error of skewness was calculated as .195. Based on those values, we can say that the distribution was not normal. Moreover, the coefficient of skewness between the values of -1, +1 can be accepted as the measure of normal distribution (Leech, Barret, & Morgan, 2005, p. 21; Morgan, Leech, Gloeckner, & Barret, 2004, p. 49). According to the coefficient of skewness calculated in this study, we can say that the distribution was not normal. Furthermore, according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, the data did not show a normal distribution, D(155) = .164, p< .05. Median and standard deviation values were examined in determining the TPACK levels of primary teachers. The data obtained from the demographic data form was presented as frequency and percentage tables. Mann Whitney U Test was used with the aim of identifying whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a significant difference according to the variables of gender, faculty of graduation, having received inservice training on the use of technology, whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient, and access to technology. Kruskal Wallis H test was applied in order to determine whether the TPACK levels indicated a significant difference according to the variables of age and seniority. In addition, Mann Whitney U Test was also used to examine whether there was a significant difference according to gender in terms of the scores received by the primary teachers in the domains of TK, CK, PK, PCK, TCK, TPK, and TPCK of the scale. The significance level was taken as .05 in the study. IBM SPSS 21 package program was used in analyzing the study data. RESULTS & DISCUSSION The following results were obtained in the light of the data from the study, and those results were discussed in the light of literature. The frequency and percentage values regarding the variables analyzed in the study are given in Table 1. 106 107 Table 1: Demographics of primary teachers Number of Teachers Percentage(%) Gender Female Male Total Seniority Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Total Age Between 20-25 years Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Toplam 99 56 155 63.9% 36.1% 100% 130 19 5 1 155 52.4% 34.3% 3.2% .6% 100% 78 71 6 155 50.3% 45.8% 3.9 % 100% Graduated from the Department of Departments of Education Faculty Departments of Other Faculties Total 146 9 155 94.2% 5.8% 100% Access to Technology Yes No Total 30 125 155 19.4% 80.6% 100% In-Service Training On the use Of Technology Yes No Total 15 140 155 9.7% 90.3% 100% Level of Technology Utilization Sufficient Sufficient Insufficient Total 125 30 155 80.6% 19.4% 100% According to Table 1, which indicates the demographics of primary teachers, 99 of them were female (63.9%), and 56 of them were male (36.1%). 52.4% of primary teachers had an experience of 1-3 years; 34.3% had an experience of 4-6 years; 3.2% had an experience of 7-9 years, and 1 teacher had an experience of 10-12 years. In addition, half of the teachers (50.3%) were in the age range of 20-25; 45.8% (71 people) were in the age range of 26-30. Almost all teachers (146 people) were graduated from the faculty of education, and a small part of them were graduated from other faculties. Majority of the teachers stated that they could not access technology (80.6%) and that they did not receive any in-service training on the use of technology (90.3%). 80.6% of primary teachers stated that their level of technology utilization was sufficient. Table 2 indicates the minimum, maximum, and median values of the scale and domains in order to identify the TPACK level of primary teachers in the study. Table 2: Scores received by primary teachers from TPACKS and domains TPACK Dimensions n MinimumMaximumMedian TPACK 82.0 220.0 185.0 TK 7.0 35.0 26.0 20.0 57.0 47.0 9.0 35.0 30.0 CK PK 155 PCK 7.0 20.0 15.0 TCK 7.0 20.0 16.0 TPK 6.0 25.0 20.0 TPCK 13.0 40.0 32.0 107 Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 According to Table 2, the median score received by primary teachers in the TPACK scale was 185.0 and the lowest score was 82.0, and the highest score was 220. The median score obtained from the TPACK scale was above the mean score value of the whole scale, which was 141. This indicated that the TPACK levels of primary teachers were high. The median scores received from the domains of the scale were as follows: 26.0 for TK, 47.0 for CK, 30.0 for PK, 15.0 for PCK, 16.0 for TCK, 20.0 for TPK, and 32.0 for TPCK. It seems that the median scores received in the domains of the scale were higher than the mean score values that could be received in the domains. Based on those results, it can be said that the TPACK levels of the primary teachers were high. Kaya, Ozdemir, Emre & Kaya (2011), in the study they conducted on a web-based environment, concluded that the pre-service teachers of information technologies generally had high TPACK self-sufficiency. The study by Konokman Yavuz, Yelken Yanpar & Tokmak Sancar (2013) examined the perceptions of the pre-service primary teachers regarding their TPACK sufficiency by using the TPACK scale developed by Schmidt, Baran, Thomson, Mishra, Koehler & Shin (2009), and found that the pre-service primary teachers had high perception scores regarding their TPACK sufficiency. Canbazoglu Bilici (2012) studied the TPACK and TPACK selfsufficiency levels of the pre-service science teachers within the scope of lecture ‘Special Teaching Methods-II’. In that study, 27 pre-service science teachers were applied a TPACK self-sufficiency scale consisting of 52 items as pre-test and post-test, and it was found that there was a statistically significant difference between the scores obtained from the whole scale and the scores pertaining to TK, PCK, TPK. The results in the literature are in parallel with the results of the current study. Table 3 indicates the results of the Mann Whitney U test, which was conducted with the aim of finding whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a statistically significant difference in the study according to gender. Table 3: Results of Mann Whitney U test of scores from TPACKS and domains according to gender Group Male Mean Rank Rank Sum TPACK 78.80 4413.00 TK 80.24 4493.50 CK 82.33 4610.50 PK 77.46 4337.50 PCK 75.79 4244.00 TCK 78.65 4404.50 TPK 76.13 4263.00 TPCK 81.48 4563.00 n 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 56 Female Mean Rank Mean Sum 77.55 7677.00 76.73 7596.50 75.55 7479.50 78.31 7752.00 79.25 7846.00 77.63 7685.50 79.06 7827.00 76.03 7527.00 n 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 U 2727.00 1646.50 2529.50 2741.50 2648.00 2735.50 2667.00 2577.00 Z -.168 -.469 -.905 -.114 -.466 -.137 -.394 -.730 According to Table 3, there was no statistically significant difference in TPACK levels of primary teachers in terms of gender (U= 2727.00, p> .05). At the same time, the domains of the TPACK scale did not indicate a statistically significant difference according to gender. Based on this finding, we can conclude that gender was not a variable that affected TPACK levels. Konokman Yavuz, Yelken Yanpar & Tokmak Sancar (2013) conducted a study on the perceptions of the pre-service teachers, who were in 4th grade of at Mersin University in the department of Primary Education Primary Teaching, regarding their TPACK sufficiency. In this study, they found that gender was not a variable that affected the perceptions regarding TPACK sufficiency. In their study, Kaya, Ozdemir, Emre & Kaya (2011) applied the Web-TPACK scale, which was developed by Lee & Tsai (2010), to 177 pre-service teachers, who were in the 3rd and 4th grades at Fırat University in the Department of Electronic and Computer Teaching of Technical Education Faculty and in the Department of Computer and Teaching Technologies Education of Education Faculty. At the end of this study, they found no significant difference between the Web-TPACK self-sufficiency perceptions of pre-service teachers of different genders. Those results in literature are consistent with the results of the current study. Table 4 indicates the results of the Kruskal Wallis H test, which was conducted with the aim of finding whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a statistically significant difference in the study according to seniority. 108 109 Table 4: Results of Kruskal Wallis H test of TPACKS and domains according to seniority Seniority Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years TK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years CK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years PK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years PCK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years TCK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years TPK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years TPCK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years Between 1-3 years Between 4-6 years TPACK Between 7-9 years Between 10-12 years n 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 130 19 5 1 Mean Rank df 77.67 79.97 92.10 12.50 80.73 55.37 100.30 42.00 78.28 73.95 71.20 152.50 79.12 67.03 81.40 124.00 81.26 52.55 87.90 88.00 79.77 71.34 64.30 42.50 80.12 69.45 64.00 35.50 80.13 64.29 82.30 40.50 X2 p Difference 3 2.680 .444 - 3 7.215 .065 - 3 3.075 .380 - 3 2.339 .505 - 3 7.190 .066 - 3 1.738 .629 - 3 2.388 .496 - 3 2.811 .422 - According to Table 4, there was no statistically significant difference in TPACK level scores of primary teachers in terms of seniority (X2(3) = 2.811, p > .05). Moreover, the domain scores of the TPACK scale did not indicate a statistically significant difference according to seniority. In other words, there was no significant difference between the TPACK level scores of the primary teachers with different seniorities. This result can indicate that seniority, as a variable, did not affect TPACK levels. Chuang & Ho (2011) found that there was a significant difference in TPACK levels according to seniority in the domains of TK, PK, CK, and PCK. Karal & Kokoc (2012) found that there was a significant difference in the TPACK self-sufficiency levels of primary teachers according to seniority. Those results in literature are not consistent with the results of the current study. Table 5 indicates the results of the Kruskal Wallis H test, which was conducted with the aim of finding whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a statistically significant difference in the study according to age. 109 Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 Table 5: Results of Kruskal Wallis H test of TPACKS and domains according to age Age Between 20-25 years TK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years CK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years PK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years PCK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years TCK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years TPK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years TPCK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years Between 20-25 years TPACK Between 26-30 years Between 31-35 years n Mean Rank 78 83.30 71 72.50 6 74.17 78 81.75 71 75.68 6 56.67 78 78.98 71 75.68 6 92.75 78 79.08 71 76.02 6 87.42 78 82.57 71 73.64 6 70.17 78 83.99 71 71.26 6 79.83 78 86.07 71 70.49 6 61.92 78 84.19 71 73.04 6 56.25 df X2 p Difference 2 2.209 .331 - 2 2.097 .350 - 2 .889 .641 - 2 .456 .796 - 2 1.685 .431 - 2 3.047 .218 - 2 5.337 .069 - 2 3.765 .152 - According to Table 5, there was no statistically significant difference in TPACK level scores of primary teachers in terms of age (X2(2) = 3.765, p> .05). In addition, the scores of the domains, namely TK, CK, PK, PCK, TCK, TPK and TPCK, did not indicate a statistically significant difference according to age. In other words, there was no significant difference between the TPACK level scores of the primary teachers with different ages. Chuang & Ho (2011) conducted a study to identify the TPACK levels of 335 preschool teachers working in five provinces in southern Taiwan. In that study, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used, and a significant difference was found in the domains of TK and PK according to age. In the TK domain, there was a significant difference between the preschool teachers in the age group of 20-30 and the preschool teachers in the age group of 31-40, and between the preschool teachers in the age group of 20-30 and the preschool teachers above the age of 40. In addition, the mean scores of the preschool teachers in the age group of 20-30 were higher than the mean scores of the preschool teachers in the age group of 31-40 and +40. In the PK domain, they found a significant difference between the preschool teachers in the age group of 31-40 and the preschool teachers in the age group of 20-30. Those results are consistent with the results of the current study. Table 6 indicates the results of the Mann Whitney U test, which was conducted with the aim of finding whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a statistically significant difference in the study according to access to technology. Table 6: Results of Mann Whitney U test of TPACKS and domains according to access to technology Group Yes Mean Rank Rank Sum TK 84.32 2529.50 CK 71.95 2158.50 PK 76.60 1985.50 PCK 66.18 2257.00 TCK 79.61 2300.50 TPK 77.48 2187.50 TPCK 78.59 2115.00 TPACK 79.38 2321.00 n 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 No Mean Rank Mean Sum 48.83 9560.50 79.45 9931.50 100.72 10104.50 80.84 9833.00 51.94 9789.50 86.44 9902.50 68.44 9975.00 55.61 9769.00 110 n 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 U Z 1685.50 -.861 1693.50 -.824 1520.50 -1.618 1792.00 -.380 1835.50 -.180 1722.50 -.696 1650.00 -1.025 1856.00 -.931 111 According to Table 6, there was no statistically significant difference in TPACK levels of primary teachers in terms of access to technology (U= 1856.00, p > .05). Moreover, the domains, namely TK, CK, PK, PCK, TCK, TPK and TPCK, did not indicate a statistically significant difference according to access to technology (U= 1685.50, p > .05, U= 1693.50, p > .05, U= 1520.50, p > .05, U= 1792.00, p > .05, U= 1835.50, p > .05, U= 1722.50, p > .05, U= 1650.00 ). However, when we look at the mean ranks of the TPACK scale, and TK, TCK, TPCK above, we see that the mean rank scores of the teachers with access to technology were higher than the ones without access to technology, and in the domains of CK, PK, PCK and TPK, the mean rank scores of the teachers without access to technology were higher than the ones with access to technology. This result can indicate that access to technology, as a variable, did not affect TPACK levels. Konokman Yavuz, Yelken Yanpar & Tokmak Sancar (2013) found that there was a statistically significant difference in the TPACK perceptions of pre-service primary teachers according to their levels of access to technology. Table 7 indicates the results of the Mann Whitney U test, which was conducted with the aim of finding whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a statistically significant difference in the study according to having received in-service training on the use of technology. Table 7: Results of Mann Whitney U test of TPACKS and domains according to having received in-service training on the use of technology Group Yes Mean Rank Rank Sum TK 106.43 1596.50 CK 87.43 1311.50 PK 75.00 1125.00 PCK 87.57 1313.50 TCK 99.60 1494.00 TPK 84.07 1261.00 TPCK 94.83 1422.50 TPACK 94.37 1415.50 n 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 15 Mean Rank 74.95 76.99 78.32 76.98 75.69 77.35 76.20 76.25 No Mean Sum 9560.50 10778.50 10965.00 10776.50 10596.00 10829.00 10667.50 10674.50 n U 140 623.50 140 908.50 140 1005.00 140 906.50 140 726.00 140 959.00 140 797.50 140 804.50 Z -2.588 -.858 -.274 -.877 -1.975 -.555 -1.537 -1.486 According to Table 7, there was no statistically significant difference in TPACK levels of primary teachers in terms of having received in-service training on the use of technology (U= 804.50, p> .05). Moreover, the domains of the TPACK scale do not indicate a statistically significant difference according to having received in-service training on the use of technology. However when we look at the mean ranks for TPACK scale and domains, we see that, in general, the mean rank scores of the teachers, who received in-service training on the use of technology, are higher than the ones who did not receive in-service training. Karal & Kokoc (2012) found that there was a significant difference in the TPACK self-sufficiency level scores of primary teachers according to having received in-service training on the use of technology. This finding in literature is not parallel to the finding of the current study. Table 8 indicates the results of the Mann Whitney U test, which was conducted with the aim of finding whether the TPACK levels of primary teachers indicated a statistically significant difference in the study according to their level of technology utilization. Table 8: Results of Mann Whitney U test of TPACKS and domains according to their level of technology utilization Group Sufficient Mean Rank Rank Sum TK 83.66 10457.00 CK 84.70 10587.00 PK 80.44 10055.50 PCK 81.19 10149.00 TCK 84.28 10534.50 TPK 80.83 10103.50 TPCK 81.10 10138.00 TPACK 84.29 10536.00 n 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 125 Insufficient Mean Rank Rank Sum 54.43 1633.00 50.10 1503.00 67.82 2034.50 64.70 1941.00 51.85 1555.50 66.22 1986.50 65.07 1952.00 51.80 1554.00 111 n 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 U 1168.00 1038.00 1569.50 1476.00 1090.50 1521.50 1487.00 1089.00 Z -3.210* -3.798* -1.394 -1.824 -3.579* -1.613 -1.767 -3.561* Ozean Journal of Applied Sciences 7(3), 2014 According to Table 8, there was a statistically significant difference in TPACK levels of primary teachers in terms of their level of technology utilization (U= 1089.00 p < .05). In addition, the domains of TK (U = 1168.00, p < .05), CK (U = 1038.00, p < .05) and TCK (U = 1090.50, p < .05) indicated a statistically significant difference according to technology utilization. In other words, it seems that the TPACK levels of the teachers, who consider their level of technology utilization sufficient, were higher than the teachers, who consider their level of technology utilization insufficient. Konokman Yavuz, Yelken Yanpar & Tokmak Sancar (2013) found that there was a statistically significant difference in the perceptions of the pre-service primary teachers regarding their TPACK levels according to their levels of technology utilization. CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS It is inevitable for teachers to use technology in education in our era, which is also called the age of technology. In integrating technology to education, we come across the subject of TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge). In this study, 155 primary teachers working in Van Province were applied the “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale”, which was originally developed by Schmidt, Baran, Thompson, Mishra, Koehler & Shin (2009) and which was adapted to Turkish language by Ozturk & Horzum (2011). The study examined the TPACK levels of primary teachers and whether their TPACK levels differed according to various variables (gender, seniority, age, faculty of graduation, having received in-service training on the use of technology, whether they consider their level of technology utilization sufficient, and access to technology). The following suggestions can be made in the light of those results: The study found no significant difference in TPACK levels according to gender, age, seniority, faculty of graduation, having received in-service training on the use of technology, and access to technology. The cause/s of this situation can be examined in depth by using different methods and data collection tools. The TPACK levels of the primary teachers, who considered their level of technology utilization sufficient were higher than those who considered their level of technology utilization insufficient. In this context, in-service trainings can be provided to develop their levels of technology utilization. Classes can be equipped with technology that can develop their TPACK levels, and thus their access to technology can be ensured. The participants of the current study were the primary teachers working in a province in Eastern Turkey. In the future, studies can be conducted by increasing the sampling sizes for identifying the TPACK levels of the primary teachers working in all provinces of Eastern Turkey. REFERENCES Akkoc, H. (2011). Investigating the development of prospective mathematics teachers' technological pedagogical content knowledge. 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