After I graduated from Primary Science Education Program, I worked for eight years as a science teacher in different schools with 1st to 8th grades. No matter what age the students are, I believe it is important to make students active in the learning process. Considering the individual differences, I always try to find engaging activities, questions that lead students to think critically, relate the scientific concepts with their daily life experiences, guide them to make evidence-based arguments.
My main goal in teaching science is increasing the scientific literacy of individuals to prepare them for real-life and guide them to be citizens that can make informed decisions. Although I like working with kids and having a role in shaping their lives, I faced several challenges of being a middle school teacher such as the pressure of the national exams and unrealistic expectations of the parents and the school administrations as a result of the exam pressure. Even though I have the control for my teaching in the classroom, there were various challenges that I had little control over such as the interfere of the administration into the curriculum and the teaching practices. The results of the national exams play a crucial role in the future education of students. As a result, the vast majority of the middle and high schools in Turkey are highly exam-oriented. Unfortunately, this limits the creativity of the teacher and the effectiveness of the learning process.
Therefore, although I enjoyed and learned a lot during these eight years, I decided to pursue an academic life to be on the side where I can better seek for ways to improve science teaching.
Please read more about my higher education teaching experiences.