Pre-Service Teachers’ Views about "Informal Learning Environments in Science Education” Course

This study examined the effect of the same elective course designed with different contents on pre-service science teachers’ views about organizing curriculum based trips to out-of-school settings. In the research, action research method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used. 97 pre-service teachers participated in the study and it was carried out within the context of elective course “Informal Learning Environments in Science Education”. The study lasted total 14 weeks, two hours every week within the context of the course. The research data was collected via questionnaire form and semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher. The results of the study reveal that in-class presentations and implementations carried out were adequate in terms of pre-service teachers’ gaining knowledge about designing and organizing curriculum based field trips. However, it is considered that extracurricular activities must certainly be carried out to promote students’ skills to work cooperatively and to increase their responsibility and confidence. In addition, all of the pre-service teachers who were interviewed stated that out-of –school settings provided many advantages to students. It was also found that pre-service teachers mostly wanted to take their students to planetariums when they became teachers.