Workshop on Developing Active Learning in Innovative Classrooms Held in Ankara

The General Directorate of Innovation and Educational Technologies organised the "Workshop on Developing Active Learning Activities in Innovative Classrooms" in Ankara from February 3 to 7, 2025. The workshop brought together 53 teachers from various disciplines and the Future Classroom Lab team from the Directorate.

During the workshop, teachers explored active learning approaches in innovative classroom settings and developed activities adaptable to their lessons. Participants designed activities focusing on six learning zones while also gaining hands-on experience in integrating digital tools into the learning process.

Supporting teachers' professional development, the workshop's outcomes were archived to be shared with all educators as the pool of active learning activities. Following this five-day event, the participants will form a team for activity development and prepare active learning lesson plans to be published for teachers from different disciplines that will use 500 innovative classrooms all around the country. This work will contribute to the widespread adoption of student-centred learning approaches and play a significant role in promoting innovative practices in education.

FCL Türkiye: Local Trainings and Ambassador Activities

As part of the Innovative Classrooms project conducted by our General Directorate, 500 innovative classrooms inspired by the Future Classroom Lab (FCL) model have been established across 81 provinces. In order to ensure the effective use of these classrooms, trainer training sessions have been organised, and 310 trainers have started providing local training across the 81 provinces. The trainings aim to promote the effective use of flexible learning spaces and the adoption of active learning pedagogy. As part of these local training sessions, FCL local ambassadors have also organised 21 in-service trainings across 12 provinces, providing training to a total of 1,364 participants.

Apart from in-service trainings, our local ambassadors have also conducted the following training sessions:

Ankara – The local FCL ambassador participated in scenario development training focused on thinking skills in FCL classrooms.

Burdur – In February, the “Artificial Intelligence Practices in Education” training was conducted in collaboration with Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, with 151 participants exploring AI integration in education.

Bursa – A total of 233 participants, including students, teachers, administrators, and coordinators, attended various workshops and sessions on future learning environments, innovative classrooms, digital tools, FCL labs, and technology strategies from January to March. Additionally, the Bursa Education Technology Summit featured panels on FCL and emerging technologies.

Gaziantep – In December, an online FCL information session was attended by 182 teachers. In February, a session was held for 200 teachers on integrating FCL into Erasmus projects and utilising it as a funding source.

İzmir - A webinar series organised by İzmir Provincial Directorate of National Education was held between February 4 and March 4. A total of 4 webinars were conducted, with an average of 120-130 teachers attending each session. The training covered FCL classroom models, flexible learning spaces, key FCL components, scenario writing, innovative assessment, feedback approaches, and FCL eTwinning integration.

Kars – In January, an online meeting on FCL and Innovative Classrooms was conducted with 76 participants.

Kocaeli – FCL information sessions were organised for the İzmit District National Education Directorate and the R&D team.

Tokat – In February and March, various sessions and workshops were conducted to promote the FCL model. Forty-eight teacher candidates participated in hands-on training on Digital Technology Integration in Language Education. Additionally, 32 school administrators and teachers engaged in workshops on Digitalisation and Education. High school students and teachers, totalling 89 participants, also received FCL training.

In February, FCL local ambassador Ünsal Saper led an Erasmus+ project titled “How to Design Innovative Learning Spaces” in Belfort, France, where 11 teachers were trained in FCL models, flexible learning spaces, scenario writing, and innovative assessments.

Zonguldak – As part of the EduTales FCL eTwinning project, an online meeting was held with the participation of 5 teachers from Türkiye and 5 from other European countries, providing information on FCL.

New Members of FCL Netwrok of Learning Labs

Five new Turkish schools have been officially acknowledged as members of the Network of Innovative Learning Labs and Spaces in the past January and February. This brings the total number of accredited FCL (Future Classroom Lab) schools to 47 in Türkiye.

The newly designated school-based learning labs are located as follows: KAVAKLIK BİLSEM FCL in Gaziantep, FCL INVENTORS in Isparta, You are the future in İzmir, FCL Classroom Tosya Bilim in Kastamonu and FCL ERBAKAN in Şanlıurfa.

Author: Büşra Söylemez