The present article attempts to reinterpret the findings of most recent studies investigating effect of using games for teaching purposes. A methodological approach combining a meta-analysis of quantitative data with qualitative ones was adopted in order to present the broadest picture of the current research on educational use of games. To this end, we conducted a meta-analysis of 180 effect size comparisons out of 154 empirical studies on the effect of both digital and non-digital games on academic achievement conducted during the period from 2004 to 2019 in order to determine the overall effect size of using games for teaching various subjects. The overall sample size of the studies included a total number of 12800 participants. Some moderator analyses were also carried out to determine the exact efficiency of educational games in terms of student levels, durations of implementation of game activities, school subjects in which games were used, class sizes, kinds of games and achievement tests used. The findings suggest that educational games have a positive effect on academic achievement and this effect is at a medium level (g = 0.695). The highest effect sizes were observed in foreign language courses (g = 0.87), small (less than 50) class sizes (g = 0.87), and in non-digital games (g = 0.90). Moreover, we conducted a meta-thematic analysis based on document analysis of qualitative studies in order to further consolidate the findings of the meta-analysis. The meta-thematic dimension of our study reveals cognitive contributions as well as drawbacks of game-based teaching, and provides suggestions for conducting educational games in a better way.

Background: Flipped classroom, which is inversion of conventional classroom procedures in simple terms, currently stands out as a popular teaching strategy for many Science courses. Purpose: In this article, we tried to make a reinterpretation of the findings of recent empirical studies conducted on the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach in science education. Design and Methods: To determine the overall effect size of the flipped classroom implementations in Science courses, a meta-analysis of 30 studies with such moderator variables as education levels, durations of implementations, various subjects areas of science and class sizes was carried out. To consolidate the academic achievement theme dwelled on in the meta-analysis part, a meta-thematic analysis based on document analysis of qualitative studies was conducted to expound in detail general characteristics of the approach, its effect on academic dimension, its contribution to the affective domain and classroom environment. Results: The findings reveal that the flipped classroom implementations have a positive medium effect (g = 0.727) on academic achievement in Science classes. Physics and Chemistry classes have the highest effect size values while Biology has the lowest effect size; the flipped classroom practices proved best in small size classes and at Primary School level with the highest effect sizes. Conclusions: The findings of both analyses provide insights into applicability of the approach in teaching of Science and its sub-branches. The drawbacks of the approach are also discussed with some suggestions for implication.

While there has been an upsurge in transition to online learning taking place mostly in higher education, many countries around the world have had to leave their brick-and-mortar schools all of a sudden and necessarily turn to fully-online education since the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). Such global emergency cases reacquaint us with the fact that education cannot be taken for granted, making the findings of the current research literature inevitable and ready for immediate use for future policy-making regarding online education. Thus, we planned to conduct the present research synthesis including more recent empirical studies of both a quantitative and qualitative character. We took a multi-complementary approach including a meta-analysis together with a meta-thematic analysis of the effectiveness of online education. In order to further complement and consolidate the results of these two reviews of previous studies, we conducted a mixed-methods research (a pre-experimental study and a qualitative study) designed specifically to understand the responses from the abrupt transition period of online education. This kind of research approach is believed to make more contributions to the relevant literature as it may provide a more in-depth perusal of the impacts of online learning on and its effectiveness in student achievement.

This research investigates university students' intentions and behaviors regarding the adoption of mobile learning tools in higher education, with a focus on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT-2) model. A sample of 541 university students from a state university in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey participated in this study. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess students' mobile learning adoption levels, and statistical analyses were conducted accordingly. The findings indicate a moderate level of mobile learning adoption among the students. The study reveals that students employ various strategies while using mobile tools for learning. Notably, among digital natives, intention to use mobile devices is significantly influenced by habit, hedonic motivation and effort expectancy. Additionally, the study identifies a significant relationship between the use behavior variable and facilitating conditions. The research also examines regulatory effects within the model, demonstrating that age moderates the relationship between habit and use behavior. Furthermore, gender has a moderating effect on the relationship between facilitating conditions and behavioral intention, as well as between hedonic motivation and behavioral intention. Finally, experience moderates the relationship between habit and use behavior, as well as between behavioral intention and use behavior.

Günümüzde çoğu üniversitede lisans ve lisansüstü dersler, eğitimde kalite ve çeşitliliği artırma, üniversiteler arası etkileşimi daha verimli hale getirme, daha fazla öğrenciye ulaşma ve ekonomik maliyetleri azaltma gibi çeşitli nedenlerle çevrimiçi verilmektedir. Bu bağlamda Fırat Üniversitesi, ön lisans, lisans ve yüksek lisans düzeyinde bazı dersleri uzaktan eğitim yöntemiyle yürütmekte olan üniversitelerden biridir. Lisans ve Ön-lisans bölümlerinde okutulmakta olan zorunlu yabancı dil İngilizce dersleri de 2017-2018 yılından itibaren uzaktan eğitim modunda verilen dersler arasındadır. Ancak, yabancı dil derslerinin, dil yeterliliği için gerekli beceri ve bilgilerin karmaşık yapısı dolayısıyla, uzaktan eğitim yoluyla öğrenilmesi en zor derslerden olduğu düşünülmektedir. Bu açıdan bu çalışmada, Fırat Üniversitesi Spor fakültesi öğrencilerinin Uzaktan Eğitim İngilizce I dersine yönelik görüşlerinin değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Spor fakültesinin çeşitli bölümlerinde okuyan ve İngilizce dersini alan 476 öğrenci üzerinde gerçekleştirilen çalışma sonucunda, öğrencilerin büyük çoğunluğunun uzaktan çevrim-içi ortamda yabancı dil öğrenme konusunda kararsıza yakın olumsuz görüş belirttikleri; öğrencilerin görüşleri arasında cinsiyet ve bölüm değişkenlerine göre istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farkların olduğu anlaşılmıştır. Çalışma sonuçları ilgili literatür eşliğinde tartışılmış ve önerilerde bulunulmuştur.