This is a lesson plan I prepared during my last year of college while I was taking school experience course and attending a public school as an intern. My proffessor Jale Çakıroğlu also liked this lesson plan very much and published it in her book named "Bilimin Doğası ve Öğretimi". Moreover, I also implemented it this semester with preservice teachers at METU. I took activity from http://www.indiana.edu/~ensiweb/lessons/gr.fs.fd.html and adapted it into Turkish. I also made some changes to make it more appropriate for 6th graders. In this activity, students are active all the time. The teacher only provides them the required materials and answer their quesions to guide them. The students work in small groups to learn the nature of science aspects with an acitivity where they act as they are scientists. The evaluation is process based not product based and this is clearly explained to the students. Since I prepared this lesson plan, actually implemented it and saw that it worked perfectly I would not change anything, but I always welcome your suggestions. :))

I completely agree. I think dressing children like they are in military and having strict rules is wrong but with this new system so many new problems come up. I think -as always- this change have not been thought well.

A useful webpage about situated cognition. Kind of a summary. :)) Especially "Sam learns about situated cognition video was very nice.

A useful website including examples of learning and teaching materials about humanism.

An interesting project. A collection of photographs of different classrooms in different countries.

A paleontologist man who is committed to the theory of evolution like a religion and a modern hippie woman who believes in all kinds of weird spiritual staff arguing about evolution. One of the best parts of the tv show Friends.