Share Paper: Using Wordles as the Visual Data to Explore Prospective Elementary Teachers’ Conceptions of Informal Science Education

1. Sumreen Asim, University of North Texas, United States

Abstract: The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate elementary preservice teachers’ conceptions of teaching beyond the classroom and identify how these conceptions revealed their strategies for helping their future students’ science learning. The qualitative study utilized Wordles, as visual data, to investigate the nature of elementary preservice teachers’ conceptions in an education program in a university located in the south-west of the United States of America. Preliminary findings indicate that all the participants recognized their potential as effective science educators in a variety of settings beyond the classroom walls.