FAME Research Group
FAME (Feedback, Assessment, Motivation, and Emotion) is a research group at the Department of Educational Sciences, Middle East Technical University. We study how students and teachers learn and develop in educational settings, through three interconnected lenses: feedback and assessment, motivation, and emotion.
Our research spans K-12 and higher education. We work with school students, university students, teacher candidates, practicing teachers, and faculty members.
Research themes
Feedback and Assessment
How teachers and students understand, use, and make sense of feedback and assessment, from K-12 classrooms to higher education and teacher education. We study feedback literacy of students, teacher candidates, and teachers and the motivational, cognitive, and self-regulatory factors behind it; teachers’ assessment beliefs, identity, and practices; and AI-based scoring and feedback.
Motivation
Self-efficacy, self-regulation, and academic motivation of students and teachers. We use modeling to enhance the assessment of these psychological constructs and to better understand how they relate to educational outcomes.
Emotion
Achievement emotions of students and emotions of teachers, and how they relate to learning and to the social context, such as teacher support and relatedness to peers. We also work on measuring emotions well, including gender differences and adapting scales for teachers and students.
These strands often meet, for example in how feedback shapes students’ emotions and motivation.
Related work
Earlier work by the group’s PI and collaborators, including former students, that grounds the group’s research.
Selected papers
Feedback and assessment
Student evaluation of instruction: Comparison between in-class and online method
Capa Aydin, Y. (2016). Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(1), 112-126.
Feedback and assessment
Apoyo al profesorado para la implementación de la evaluación en línea en educación superior: el proyecto europeo Remote.EDU
Marín, V. I., Bendenlier, S., Capa-Aydin, Y., Kaya-Kasikci, S., Kondakci, Y., Schieber, J., & Zayim-Kurtay, M. (2022). Book chapter, Octaedro.
Motivation
What makes them self-regulated? Self-regulation procedures of academically successful students and key influences
Aydan, S., & Capa-Aydin, Y. (2025). Acta Psychologica, 257.
Motivation
The relationship between vicarious experience, social persuasion, physiological state, and chemistry self-efficacy: The role of mastery experience as a mediator
Capa Aydin, Y., Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci, E., & Ceylandag, R. (2018). Psychology in the Schools, 55, 1224-1238.
Emotion
What do students feel, and what do teachers say? A mixed-methods study
Calik, B., & Capa-Aydin, Y. (2025). Psychology in the Schools, 62, 1242-1259.
Emotion
Psychometric properties of the Turkish adaptation of the Teacher Emotions Scale (TES)
Calik, B., & Capa Aydin, Y. (2022). Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 40(8), 1017-1032.
Recent presentations
- Arslan, B. Z., & Capa Aydin, Y. (2026, August). A canonical correlation analysis of preservice teachers’ teacher and student feedback literacy. EARLI SIG 1 Assessment and Evaluation, Utrecht, Netherlands.
- Arslan, B. Z., & Capa Aydin, Y. (2026, June). Teacher candidates’ feedback literacy: motivational, cognitive, and self-regulatory factors. 19th International Conference on Motivation and Emotion, Lisbon, Portugal.
- Capa Aydin, Y., Arslan, B. Z., & Ozcan, B. (2025, August). A Rasch measurement approach to compare instructor and ChatGPT scoring in higher education. EARLI Conference, Graz, Austria.
- Marín, V. I., Zayim-Kurtay, M., Kondakci, Y., Kaya-Kasikci, S., Capa-Aydin, Y., & Bedenlier, S. (2022, October). Opportunità e sfide della valutazione online per l’istruzione superiore. 7th Settimana di Eccellenza, Macerata, Italy.
Group members
FAME is led by Prof. Yeşim Çapa Aydın (bio).
Collaborators
- Türkan İstencioğlu, [PhD Candidate at CRADLE, Deakin University, Australia]. Collaborating on faculty feedback literacy.
Former students and related theses
Master’s theses and doctoral dissertations completed at Middle East Technical University under the group leader’s supervision.
Feedback and Assessment
- Büşra Zeynep Arslan (2026, MSc). Predicting feedback literacy of pre-service teachers: A structural equation model
- Aynur Babacan (2024, MSc). A qualitative study of English language teachers’ assessment identity and assessment practices
- Çiğdem Çalık (2023, MSc, co-supervised). Measurement and assessment practices in design studio: a case from METU Department of Architecture basic design studio
- Türkan İstencioğlu (2022, MSc). Investigating teachers’ views and practices of feedback in English language education in middle schools from a teacher feedback literacy framework perspective
- Ceren Kara (2021, MSc). A qualitative study of feedback literacy level in higher education: uncovering enhancing and impeding factors
- Rana Ceylandağ (2009, MSc). Teacher self-efficacy beliefs toward measurement and evaluation practices
Motivation
- Seda Aydan (2023, PhD). From little acorns to mighty oaks: self-regulation strategies of the top ranking science high school students in Turkiye and factors promoting these strategies
- Kerime Köfünyeli (2022, MSc). Academic dishonesty among undergraduate students: predicting the role of academic moral disengagement and academic motivation in academic dishonesty
- Ekin Bayar (2021, MSc). The role of academic motivation, course satisfaction, and advisory relationship on research self-efficacy beliefs of graduate students
- Utku Çaybaş (2021, MSc, co-supervised). Academic motivation of middle school students: perceived teacher affective support, number of interaction partners, prior achievement and homophily
- Ayşegül Solar Şekerci (2020, PhD). A structural equation model on academic writing self-efficacy beliefs of students at English medium universities
- Rana Ceylandağ (2015, PhD). Factors influencing college teaching self-efficacy of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graduate teaching assistants
Emotion
- Başak Çalık (2020, PhD). Investigation of middle school mathematics teacher emotions and their students’ mathematics achievement emotions: a mixed-methods study
- Ezgi Hazal Kök (2017, MSc). The role of perceived teacher affective support and relatedness to peers in achievement emotions of middle school students in EFL classrooms
- Başak Çalık (2014, MSc). The relationship between mathematics achievement emotions, mathematics self-efficacy, and self-regulated learning strategies among middle school students
- Ayşegül Güçlü (2009, MSc). Eighth grade students’ emotion regulation strategies during test taking: the role of gender, cognitive appraisal processes, academic self-efficacy, and test anxiety
Theses shown here are those closest to the group’s themes. Full list of theses and dissertations
Join or collaborate
For students
Prospective students
Admission for graduate study is handled through the department’s graduate admission process.
If you are admitted to the Department of Educational Sciences and your interests fit FAME’s themes, you are welcome to contact me about advising. The research group consists of Yeşim Hoca’s own advisees.
For researchers and practitioners
Collaboration
We welcome collaboration with researchers, faculty members, teachers, and schools on studies that fit our themes.
To start a conversation, send a short email describing your idea and how it connects to feedback and assessment, motivation, or emotion.