Foundations Development Directorate

6th workshop on


Learner-Centered Approaches in
College STEM Education

September 11-13, 2024

Sabancı University, Tuzla Campus


Are you looking for a way to improve your students'
engagement in your class?

Join us!
Register from HERE!

Registration is closed. Thanks for your interest!
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Updates

Workshop Information & Materials for Participants are now available!


Our Story


In 2013, Sabancı University adopted the global effort to rethink the role of the faculty and the students in undergraduate education and prioritize “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning” (SoTL) that values evidence-based student learning. The Science of Nature (NS 101/102) Courses have been the flagship of this effort; the NS courses are offered in a theme-based modular format, emphasizing an interdisciplinary and student-centered course structure based on active learning. As a part of the first-year core curriculum at Sabancı University, the NS courses are compulsory for all incoming freshman students regardless of their prospective majors. To date, we have worked with more than 7000 students in this student-centered version of the NS courses.


Such a learner-centered approach is unique especially for large freshman STEM courses in Turkish universities, and over the last 10 years we have accumulated a variety of experiences and data with our freshman students, which we believe are worth sharing. We have also developed and established professional development programs for instructors and assistants of the NS courses to inform them of the pedagogy behind the course and to help them gain the necessary skills to become effective facilitators in the student-centered learning environment.


The Workshop on Learner-Centered Approaches in College STEM Education is aimed at sharing our experiences and providing a professional development opportunity for college-level STEM educators, who are interested in SoTL and in applying innovative approaches to their courses. We plan to compile and anonymously share the participants’ experiences and resources they find in the process on this website, which we hope will benefit the larger educator community within Türkiye and beyond.



about

About the Workshop

The workshop consists of two phases: First, the 3-day workshop provides background pedagogical information through activities on student-centered strategies. It is then followed by an application phase, during which participants are expected to apply some of the learned approach with their own students. We will have an online feedback meeting in January-February 2025 to conclude the program.

The Goals:

  • To share our experiences and resources with the student-centered teaching approach used in the freshman science courses
  • To discuss the current advances in SoTL
  • To provide the participants an opportunity to develop skills to become effective facilitators in active-learning classrooms
  • To actively engage the participants in the refinement and assessment of their own courses

The Two Phases:

  1. 3-Day Workshop (September 11-13, 2024): Composed of a series of 1-1.5 hour group sessions and some individual work. Constant guidance and feedback will be provided. The topics includes:
    • Student-centered course design
    • Active learning
    • Collaborative learning
    • Formative/summative assessment
    • Classroom assessment techniques
    • Collaborative learning techniques
    • Flipped classroom
    • Planning for possible application in your course

    See the Workshop Program section for more details.


  2. Application & Feedback (Fall semester 2024 & Early 2025):

    3. Trial implementation (at any scale possible) of the plan that each participant prepare at the workshop. The participants are encouraged to share a summary of the experiences of their implementations. An online feedback meeting will be organized for each (group of) participants in January - February 2025 to discuss how they implemented the innovative approaches in their classroom and the strengths and weaknesses of their implementation.


Venue and More:

  • Workshop venue: Sabancı University, Tuzla Campus (Orta Mahalle, 34956 Tuzla, İstanbul). Click here to see the map.
  • Capacity: about 25 participants
  • No participation fee is required. Financial support will be available to limited number of participants on the need basis.
  • The workshop will be conducted in English


Previous Workshops



Previous Workshop Websites:
September 4-7, 2018
January 14-16, 2020
February 16-17, 2021 (Special virtual version for online education)
September 13-15, 2022
September 13-15, 2023


Previous Participants Affiliations:
Abdullah Gül University, Bahçeşehir University, Bilkent University, Boğaziçi University, Gazi University, Istanbul Technical University, Koç University, MEF University, Sabancı University, Süleyman Demirel University, TED University, TÜBİTAK, Istanbul Ticaret University, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Trabzon University, Izmir Institute of Technology, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University, Sivas Cumhuriyet University, Akdeniz University, Okan University, Yeditepe University

Participants' Voice

"It changed my ideas about science teaching. I thought a basic Flipped approach would be sufficient where content is presented and then students solve questions. However, I understood the importance of an inquiry-based approach such as the 5E model: how it can motivate students, how it can fight off misconceptions, and result in more effective learning."
— D. from MEF University

"This workshop made me realize that teaching is in itself a universe, with full of ideas and aspects to consider. I think the contents of this workshop should be included in the common education system starting from the primary school, both for students and educators."
— A. from Sabancı University

"the workshop provided me an opportunity to observe how engineering instructors are facing the challenges to design active learning teaching."
— E. from Abdullah Gül University

"I realized that I did not take much risk and did what I was told or what I saw from previous examples. Now, after spending three long days at the workshop, I know that I should pay attention to the learning outcomes and the way I approach to the students in terms of content. ... You not only learn but you also need to learn how to teach."
— N. from Sabancı University

Also:   Pre/Post survey show significant improvements in the following aspects of participants' classes:

  1. Students are actively engaged in thought-provoking activity that often involved the critical assessment of procedures.
  2. The metaphor “teacher as listener” is very characteristic of this classroom.

moderators

Workshop Moderators




Yuki Kaneko

Research Interests: High-energy astrophysics, Science education.

personal webpage

Education

Ph.D in Physics, University of Alabama in Huntsville
M.S in Physics, University of Alabama in Huntsville
B.S in Physics and Astronomy, Youngstown State University


Teaching Experience

1995-2006 Volunteer teachers/tutors at various K-12/college programs in the US
2000-2001 Teaching Assistant, University of Alabama in Huntsville
2006-2009 IB Physics Instructor, TEV İnanç Türkeş Özel Lisesi
2009-current Instructor/Coordinator, NS101/102, Sabancı University


Teaching Philosophy

I believe that knowledge is something that is built within each learner in a way that is unique and specific to each learner. Learners must integrate new pieces of information into their own context in order to build the knowledge. A teacher’s time is best spent coaching that learning process with the students, rather than just providing information.



Süphan Bakkal

Research Interests:  Natural antimicrobials, antimicrobial resistance, and Science Education.

Education

Ph.D in Molecular and Biology Graduate Program, University of Massachusetts Amherst
M.S in Molecular Biology, Genetics, and Bioengineering
B.S in Molecular Biology and Genetics, Boğaziçi University


Teaching Experience

2009-2010 Instructor: BIO H100-Life Sciences and Global Issues at UMass
2010-2011 Instructor: BIO 105H-Biology of Social Issues at UMass
2017-2018 Instructor: Proj 201- Undergraduate Project Course
2011-Present Instructor/Coordinator of NS Courses, Sabancı University


Teaching Philosophy

My experience in research and science education taught me that learning is a unique experience for everyone and learners may have different challenges according to their skills and learning styles. Learners’ active participation is the key component in the learning process. My role as a teacher is to create a learning environment that encourages learners’ motivation and participation as well as to provide guidance to the learners to strengthen their learning skills for becoming independent learners.



Aslıhan Muazzez Ünsal

Research Interests: Spectral analysis of Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) prompt emission, Science education in college.

Education

Ph.D in Physics, Sabanci University
M.A in Astronomy, Boston University
B.S in Physics, Bilkent University


Teaching Experience

Lead Discussion and Laboratory sessions of Freshman Astronomy courses in Boston University
Work as a Teaching Assistant and Master Teaching Assistant in Science of Nature courses (NS101/NS102) in Sabanci University


Teaching Philosophy

Being a good teacher is not all about knowing and explaining everything, rather it is to make your students be aware of their own learning. This requires being able to see students’ needs individually and provide appropriate learning environment, resources, and activities to them.




program

Workshop Program

F.A.Q

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

  • Daily lunch and light breakfast
  • Coffee, tea, and light snacks
  • Travel and accommodation support for limited number of participants

Someone who is:

  • Teaching or providing support for a college-level STEM course or designing a STEM course or curriculum
  • Interested in learning about what current research tells us about students’ learning
  • Motivated to learn through hands-on experience how to effectively impact the academic growth of students
  • Looking for an opportunity to initiate long-term collaborations with other STEM educators
  • Highly valuing teamwork
  • With good communication skills in English

Please fill out and submit the online registration form from this registration link.

There is no selection process. However, if you ask for financial support, your situation will be reviewed and informed after the deadline. The registration form must be submitted by Wednesday, August 30, 2024. Early registration is strongly encouraged!

There is no registration fee for the workshop. In addition, we have a limited amount of funding available to support out-of-city participants, for travel and/or for accommodation. If you need financial support, please indicate that in the registration form; we will try our best to provide you partial (or full) support, depending on the situation.

No. Each session of the workshop is related and all sessions build on earlier sessions. If you miss one day or some sessions of the workshop, you will not be able to benefit from later sessions as much. Because of this, we ask all the participants to attend all sessions, and we plan everything assuming that you attend all sessions.

Yes, you will receive a certificate of completion upon successful participation in both phases: the 3-day workshop and the application of your plan. At the time of the feedback meeting (early 2025). It will be issued by the Foundations Development Directorate of Sabancı University.

There are several shuttles and IETT buses available daily. For transportation options, directions and schedules, please see the University's transportation pages:

No. From our experience, the hybrid format is not as effective as we would like the workshop (or class!) to be, so we strongly prefer in-person participation. Also the feedback of the previous participants indicates that the benefits of the workshop are maximized only with the face-to-face interactions.




Workshop Poster


class in action

"Science of Nature" Class
in Action

Blog
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Questions?

Please contact Yuki Kaneko (yuki@sabanciuniv.edu) if you have any questions about the workshop.

This workshop is organized by the Promoting Excellence in Education & Resource Sharing (PEERS) initiative






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