Developing experiment based science teaching skills : a lifelong learning opportunity for teachers in a rural area of Turkey

Modular Mobile Education: Science Experiments (MOBILIM) is an innovative pilot project for the vocational training of science teachers in rural regions of central Turkey supported by the European Commission in the frames of the Leonardo da Vinci programme. In this project, a mobile science laboratory (MSL) was established in order to cope with the great disparities in opportunities between science teaching in urban and rural areas. Teacher training both in what concerns practical competencies and subject knowledge is one of the main reasons for these disparities in the standards of science teaching. Teacher training via MOBILIM is based on hands-on and demonstration practical activities. At the end of the MSL based phase a two-day conference was organized to provide an opportunity for discussion with and among teachers and also to make it possible to exchange ideas and experiences with European partners of the project. Results indicate that in order to improve teachers’ practice in the classroom, experimental vocational education via mobile laboratories is advisable and allow good results. The majority of the teachers were pleased with the participation in both the training phase and the subsequent project conference. All of the teachers involved want to become a better and more active teaching force. There is a high expectation to carry on with similar courses in the future