SINIF ÖĞRETMENİ ADAYLARININ FEN ÖĞRETİMİNDE OKUL DIŞI ÖĞRENME HAKKINDAKİ GÖRÜŞLERİ

PRE-SERVICE PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS' OPINIONS ABOUT OUT-OF-SCHOOL LEARNING IN SCIENCE TEACHING

Özet

Araştırmanın amacı sınıf öğretmeni adaylarının okul dışı öğrenme hakkındaki genel görüşlerinin belirlenmesidir. Araştırmada nitel araştırma desenlerinden fenomenolojik yaklaşım benimsenmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu bir üniversitenin üçüncü sınıfında öğrenimine devam eden 37 sınıf öğretmenliği bölümü öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmada veri toplama aracı olarak araştırmacılar tarafından geliştirilen ve uzmanlar tarafından uygunluğu kontrol edilen açık uçlu soru formu kullanılmıştır. Form; okul dışı öğrenmeye yönelik sınıf öğretmenliği öğrencilerinin görüşlerini ortaya çıkaracak nitelikte sorulardan oluşmaktadır. Araştırmada veriler yazılı olarak toplanmış ve betimsel analiz tekniği ile analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonucuna göre; öğrencilerin okul dışı öğrenme ortamlarına yönelik görüşlerinin; (i) okul dışı öğrenme ortamları algısı, (ii) okul dışı öğrenmenin ilkokul fen programındaki yeri ve (iii) öğretmen boyutuyla okul dışı öğrenme şeklinde üç temada toplandığı görülmüştür. Sonuçlara göre; okul dışı öğrenmenin fen öğretiminde önemli olduğu, okul dışı öğrenme ortamlarında öğretmen rollerinin sınıf ortamından farklı olduğu, yeni fen bilimleri programının amacı ile uyumlu olduğu ve okul dışı öğrenmenin öğrencilerin bilgiyi yapılandırmasında etkili bir yaşantı geçirmesini sağladığı yönünde görüşler ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunun yanında öğrenciler okul dışı öğrenme ortamlarının yaparak-yaşayarak öğrenmeyi sağlama, sorgulayıcı bir bakış açısı kazandırma, öğrencileri süreçte aktif kılma, gözlem vb. bilimsel süreç becerileri kazandırma gibi avantajlarının yanında; öğretim sürecinin kontrolünün zorluğu, zaman problemi, denetiminin zor olması gibi dezavantajlarının da olduğunu belirtmişlerdir

Abstract

The aim of the study is determine the pre-service primary school teachers’ opinions about out of school learning. In this study it is appropriated the phenomenological approach which is one the method of qualitative research design. The study group is 37 pre-service primary school teachers from one of the university of Turkey. In the study it is used an open-ended questionary form which is developed by the researchers and controlled by the specialist. The form consists of eight questions which can find out the pre-service primary school teachers’ opinions about out of school learning. The data collected by written forms and analyzed by descriptive analysis. According to results it is found out that pre-service school teacher’ opinions grouped in three themes that (i) perception of out of school learning environment, (ii) place of out of school learning in the science curriculum, (iii) dimension of teacher on the out of school learning. According to results; it is found out the opinions that out of school learning is important for science teaching, the role of teacher is different from out of school learning environments than in the classroom, the aim of new science curriculum is coherent and these environments are structured the knowledge. Furthermore students can learn by doing, get the inquisitive perspective, active during the process, get the scientific process skills as observing etc. however the difficulty of the controlling the learning process, time, supervision etc. are the disadvantages Preparing a learning environment in which students will feel comfortable and do in-depth interrogation is important for a high level of learning to occur. Curricula that have changed in recent years emphasize the importance of such issues as out-of-school learning activities, practice, research and interrogation especially in courses which have a close relationship with daily life like Science. In Turkey, in the curriculum of the course of Science updated in 2004 and 2013, it is pointed out that what students have learnt should be associated with daily life (Ministry of National Education, 2013). This association can not be achieved at all only with activities to be carried out in class environment. In this respect, out-of-class activities to be organized by teachers will help students both enjoy Science and internalize abstract concepts in an entertaining and instructive manner. According to the results of related studies, teachers believe that educational activities carried out in out-of-class environments are influential on students’ learning, yet they do not favor these activities (Carrier, 2009; Güven, Gazel and Sever, 2004; Moseley, Reinke and Bookout, 2002; Orion et.al., 1997; Simmons, 1998; Tatar and Bağrıyanık, 2012; Yeşilyurt, 2012). Therefore, the present study was based on the assumption that identifying the relationship of preservice teachers’ perceptions regarding out-of-school science activities and their roles in the process with the curriculum of Science will determine their potential to carry out such activities in future. In addition, the study aimed at determining what the out-of-school science activity environments were according to the preservice teachers, what their out-of-school science activity behavior goals were and what the place of out-of-school science activities was in their education lives. In the study, the phenomenological approach, one of qualitative research designs, was used. The research group was made up of 37 third grade undergraduate students from the department of Primary School Teaching from a university. In the study, as the data collection tool, a question form including open-ended questions developed by the researchers and tested by experts for its appropriateness was used. This form was made up of eight questions to determine primary school teaching students’ views about out-of-school learning environments. The participants who were determined on voluntary basis were given three days to respond to the questions in the form. The data were collected via the participants’ responses to the data collection form. In the study, the data were analyzed with descriptive analysis technique. Also, before the analysis of the data, for the purpose of having a holistic viewpoint, the documents belonging to each participant were read a few times to learn about the study group and to recognize the codes. With the Descriptive Analysis Technique, the data were analyzed by two researchers independently. Following this, the analyses were combined for consensus. The data were first analyzed examining the statements and then the words one by one. With the help of the codes obtained as a result of the analyses, the categories were determined. Depending on the categories, the themes were determined. While determining the themes, the open-ended questions directed to the preservice teachers were taken as basis, and in line with the preservice teachers’ responses, the interrelated questions were combined. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was seen that the views of the primary school teaching preservice teachers about out-of-school learning activities within the scope of science courses were gathered under three themes: “Out-of-school learning environment perception”, “Teachers in out-of-school learning environments” and “Place of out-ofschool learning environments in curriculum”. The sub-themes related to the theme of out-of-school learning environment included “Advantages and disadvantages of out-of-school learning and learning environments”. Regarding the sub-theme of “Learning Environments”, all the preservice teachers participating in the study regarded “Science Centers” as an out-of-school learning environment. In addition, zoos, natural life parks and museums were reported to be among the most frequent out-of-school learning environments. According to the subtheme of advantages of out-of-school learning environments, the preservice teachers mentioned scientifi