Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
New Trends and Issues Proceedings on Humanities and Social Sciences, sa.2, ss.76-84, 2016 (Hakemli Dergi)
Many developed countries are conducting studies to increase their citizens’ interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and educate STEM-literate individuals. These studies include STEM-related curricula and professional development programs to enhance knowledge and skills of teachers who will implement them. In the last five years, Turkey has also been following these developments closely and carrying out activities to this end. One example of these studies is in-service training activities conducted by Kayseri STEM Center affiliated with Kayseri Directorate of National Education (MoNE). The aim of this study was to find out the effects of Kayseri MoNE STEM Center on teachers’ professional development. It was implemented as a special case study. Study data were collected by means of semi-structured interviews, field notes and semi-structured observation tools. Results of the study revealed that Kayseri Professional Development Program of Ministry of National Education has an enhancing effect on STEM-related knowledge and skills and implementation of these skills in their classes. Keywords: STEM approach; professional development; in-service teacher training