Developing Systems Thinking Skills with a Global Climate Change Module: A Mixed Methods Design

Sevgi Aslıhan Karayol was born in Izmir, Turkey. After graduating from the city's top middle school and high school, she completed her undergraduate education in biology education at 9 Eylül University. Immediately after graduating, she ranked in the national official exam and was appointed as a biology teacher at a public school in Istanbul, where she has been serving for 15 years. After earning her master's degree in science and mathematics education from one of Turkey's top universities, Boğaziçi University, she began her PhD studies at Yıldız Technical University, another prestigious institution in the country. She will graduate as soon as she meets the requirements for publishing a paper from the doctoral thesis. Sevgi Aslıhan Karayol's primary areas of interest are global climate change, environmental education, and systems thinking.

Prof. Dr. Umdu Topsakal, who was born in Germany, completed her primary education in Germany. She completed her undergraduate, master's, and doctoral studies at Karadeniz Technical University and worked as a research assistant at the same university between 1998 and 2005. During her master's and doctoral studies, she conducted research at the University of Erlangen/Friedrich Alexander University in Germany at different times, participating in international projects there. Between 2005 and 2009, she worked as a faculty member at Sakarya University. From 2009 to 2011, she worked on her postdoctoral research with Dr. John Oversby at the University of Reading in the UK. Since 2011, she has continued her role as a faculty member at Yıldız Technical University. She has held administrative roles such as Head of Department and Chair of the Department. Dr. Umdu Topsakal’s research areas primarily focus on the use of visuals in science education and biology education. She serves as a reviewer for several journals, including the Journal of Biological Education. She has been a jury member in international doctoral defense exams (Germany/University of Bremen). She has participated in various international and national projects, including EU projects, in roles such as project leader, researcher, trainer, and advisor. She has served as an editor for books published by national and international publishing houses and has written book chapters.