Reflections from an Out-Of-School Learning Course: The Development of Pre-Service Science Teachers

Authors : Ümmü Gülsüm Durukan, Ayşegül Aslan, Aykut Emre Bozdoğan

Pages : 422-444

Doi:10.17275/per.22.98.9.4

View : 28 | Download : 9

Publication Date : 2022-07-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :The aim of the study is to examine the development of pre-service science teachers within the course about the out-of-school learning. In this study, the effects of the implementations in the course on the perceptions of the pre-service science teachers about the relevant subject and their self-efficacy in organizing teaching activities in these environments were evaluated. The study was carried out employing an action research design. The study group consisted of 36 pre-service science teachers in The Department of Science Education at the Faculty of Education at a state university in Turkey during the 2019-2020 academic year. Data collection tools were "The Form of Pre-service Science Teachers’ Opinion on OSL”, "Self-Efficacy Belief Scale for Planning and Organizing Educational Trips to Out of School Settings" developed by Bozdoğan (2016), "Informal Learning Environments Scale" developed by Adiyaman (2019), and "Experience Determination Form” adapted by Aslan (2015). The data collection tools were used as a pre-test on the first week of the course and as a post-test on the fifteenth week of the same course. The qualitative data elicited from the open-ended questions and the "Experience Determination Form" were subjected to the content analysis method. The quantitative data obtained from the "Self-Efficacy Belief Scale for Organizing Educational Trips to Out-of-School Environments” and "Informal Learning Environments Scale” were analysed using the SPSS 25.0 package program. The dependent t-test was used to compare the scores of the pre-tests and post-tests. The results showed that the applications made within the course significantly affect the opinions of pre-service science teachers about out-of-school learning and their self-efficacy in organizing educational activities in out-of-school learning environments
Keywords : Pre-service science teacher, out-of-school learning, self-efficacy, experience.