Site Director

Dr. Elif ADIBELLİ ŞAHİN

She is mainly responsible for the overall programme and resource management. She completed her Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis on Science Education and a cognate in Educational Psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the USA. She also holds a B.S. and M.S. degree in Elementary Science and Mathematics Education from the Middle East Technical University in Türkiye. She currently works as a program director and an education expert in the Development Workshop. Her fields of interest include science education, nature of science, teacher professional development, teacher beliefs, and critical thinking.

Program Coordinator

Gülşah ÖZKAN İNAL

She supports the site director in the overall coordination of the program activities and project team. She holds a B.S. and M.S. degree in Elementary Science and Mathematics Education from the Middle East Technical University in Türkiye. She is doing her PhD in Educational Management and Planning at Middle East Technical University. She is currently an education expert in the Development Workshop. She works in the fields of science education, teacher professional development programme, vocational education, critical thinking, IBSE teaching, school climate and teacher leadership within the scope of the national and international projects.

Biology/ Bioethics Education and Professional Development Expert

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nilay KESKİN SAMANCI

She is mainly responsible for planning, designing and conducting professional development programs for teachers. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology Education from Gazi University in Türkiye. She earned her B.S. degree in Biology Education from the same university. In her master’s study she examined the learning processes of pre-service science teachers on gene cloning in comparison between traditional teaching and poster presentation. She also holds a Ph.D in Biology Education from the same university. Her doctorate study was in the field of bioethics education. She works as a faculty member in the Department of Basic Education, Classroom Education Department at Gazi University in Türkiye as well as volunteer director of Education Workshop, which is under the umbrella of the Development Workshop Cooperative. Her fields of interest include biology education, ethical reasoning, teacher professional development, critical thinking and inquiry based science education.

Kars Lab Technician

Dr. Asiye ULUĞ

She is mainly responsible for preparing and checking the kits in Kars as well as supporting teachers about equipment or material issues. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology Education from Gazi University in Türkiye. She completed her Master and Ph.D in the Plant genetics area from Middle East Technical University. She studied as a teaching assistant in Plant Tissue Culture and Plant Biology labs for ten years. She works as a faculty member in the Department of Biology, Kafkas University. She is also currently a post-doctoral researcher on Ancient Plant DNA studies at the Middle East Technical University.

Ankara Lab Technician

Dr. Funda ÖZDEMİR DEĞİRMENCİ

She is mainly responsible for preparing and checking the kits in Ankara as well as supporting teachers about equipment or material issues. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology Education from Gazi University in Türkiye. She completed her Master and Ph.D in the Plant Genetics area from Middle East Technical University. She studied as a teaching assistant in Plant Tissue Culture and Plant Biology labs for ten years. She works as a faculty member in the Department of Crop Sciences at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University. She is currently a post-doctoral researcher on Ancient Plant DNA studies at the Middle East Technical University.

Ankara Kit Manager and Editör

Hanife İpek Gökbel

She is responsible for listing the materials to be delivered to the teachers, preparing the lab implementation schedule, distributing and collecting the prepared lab kits in Ankara, adaptation studies and editing of printed materials such as reports and guidebooks. She completed her undergraduate education at Bilkent University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration. She is currently working as a content development specialist at the Education Workshop, which is part of the Development Workshop Cooperative. She works in national and international projects in the fields of vocational and technical education, critical thinking and school climate.

Ankara Kit Manager

Göksu Tuncer

She is mainly responsible for preparing and checking the kits in Ankara as well as supporting teachers about equipment or material issues. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from Middle East Technical University in Turkey. She completed her internship in the Plant Biology and Physiology area at University of Maryland, College Park, MD in the U.S.A. She received her M.S. degree on Ancient Plant DNA studies at the Middle East Technical University. She is currently continuing her doctorate studies in the same department.

Site Liaison

Tuna Gökbel

He is primarily responsible for the dissemination and visibility activities of the program. He continues her education as a second-year student in the Department of Economics (English) at Hacettepe University.

Designer

Hatice Kübra Karakaya

She supports the preparation and design processes of printed materials. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Architecture, MEF University. She received her master's degree at TED University. She took part in many projects as an architect, designer, illustrator and project assistant. She works as a freelance artist and as an architect at Nallıhan Municipality.

Ankara Kit Manager

He is responsible for preparing and checking the kits in Ankara as well as supporting teachers on equipment or materials related issues. He received his B.S. degrees from Middle East Technical University, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, and then from Atılım University, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering in Türkiye. He received his M.S. degree from METU Bioinformatics program. He is currently continuing his Ph.D. studies on computational genetics at METU Biology Department. During his Ph.D., he worked as a visiting researcher for 1 year at Harvard Department of Biomedical Informatics, where he worked on 3D chromosome modeling. He is currently working as a researcher in the European Union HORIZON 2023 project. He has also been working as a system coordinator and research assistant at METU Biological Sciences Department since 2010.

Kars Kit Manager

She is responsible for preparing and controlling the kits in Kars as well as supporting teachers on equipment or materials related issues. She received her Bachelor's degree in Biology Science from Kırıkkale University, Türkiye. She received her M.S. degree in General Biology/Biochemistry from Kafkas University, Department of Biological Sciences. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemical sciences from Kafkas University, Department of Chemical Sciences. She is currently working as a faculty member at Kafkas University, Kars Vocational High School, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Processing Technologies.

Kars Kit Manager

She is responsible for preparing and controlling the kits in Kars as well as supporting teachers on equipment or materials related issues. She received her Bachelor's degree in Chemical Science from Amasya University, Türkiye. She received her M.S. degree in Biochemical Sciences from Kafkas University, Department of Chemical Sciences. She is currently doing her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at the Chemistry Department of Kafkas University and working as a teaching assistant at Kafkas University, Kars Vocational High School, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Processing Technologies.

Education Specialist

She contributes to content development and professional development activities for teachers. She earned her bachelor's degree in Elementary Science Education at Middle East Technical University in Türkiye. Currently, she works as an education specialist at the Development Workshop. She has been involved in national and international projects focusing on science education through children's literature, creative drama, and critical thinking.

İzmir Kit Support Manager

She is responsible for kit management processes in İzmir. It provides support to teachers, who conduct school implementation, on kit preparation and control. She graduated from Gülhane Military Medical Academy Nursing School in 1996. Afterwards, she completed Gazi University Biology Education in 2001. She has worked in various types of schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education since 2002 and currently works as a biology teacher at Çiğli Aydoğan Yağcı Science and Art Center.

Support Team

Support team includes both volunteer and partial volunteer staff. Their professional expertise areas may range from academic research to text edit, from graphic design to measurement and evaluation. They may take roles in the review of Turkish student and teacher guides, supporting lab technicians as well as delivering the kits to schools.