Teaching Science Outdoors

Supporting Pre-Service Teachers’ Skill Development with the Help of Available Mobile Applications

Bibliographic Data

ID22043259
AuthorsMerike Kesler (0000-0002-6633-4906, University of Helsinki, corresponding author), Arja Kaasinen (0000-0002-6683-3051, University of Helsinki), Anttoni Kervinen (0000-0003-1689-6457, University of Helsinki)
Year2024
Volume14
Issue11
Pages1218
Publication date2024-11-05
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2227-7102 • E-ISSN: 2227-7102
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/educsci14111218
OpenAlexW4404076397
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited45

Outdoor environments provide excellent teaching and learning experiences in science education. However, many teachers find outdoor teaching challenging. In this study, we investigated factors supporting skill development and learning among pre-service teacher during a blended science didactics course that includes mobile interaction in outdoor environments. Available WhatsApp mobile application was used as an interaction platform between the pre-service teachers’ and the teacher educator. Based on the findings, the pre-service teachers learned easy ways of using outdoor environments with pupils. They also identified challenges that may arise in outdoor teaching and upskilled on how to overcome them. From the perspective of interaction, submitting learning tasks, especially visual observations, through mobile messaging and reviewing tasks of other students in the application were perceived as important. However, the most crucial benefit of mobile interaction was considered to be the teacher’s real-time feedback

Mathematics education · Mobile device · Multimedia · Science education · Teaching method · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Educational Games and Gamification · Mobile Learning in Education · Outdoor and Experiential Education · Psychology

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access