Secondary teachers' conceptions of the out-of-class experience

Teachers have used the out-of-class experience for many years and in many different ways and this may pose a question. How do teachers, who utilise the out-of-class experience as a teaching strategy view the experience? DO they have broad or narrow conceptions and do teachers of various curriculum areas and teaching philosophies conceive of the out-of-class experience in differing ways? Whilst research studies have demonstrated the various impacts and value of out-of-class expe1iences little research has been conducted to investigate teachers' conceptions of the nature and purpose of such activities.

The purpose of this study was to identify the varying conceptions of the nature of out-of-class experiences possessed by teachers who regularly undertake such strategies within their teaching of geography and science at both junior and senior secondary levels. The research question can be expressed as 'What conceptions of the out-of-class experience do secondary teachers hold?'

An understanding of teacher's conceptions of the out-of-class experience holds implications for teachers, teacher educators and educational researchers alike. Conducting out-of-class experiences requires different skills to classroom based teaching and therefore needs different emphasis in pre and in-service teacher education. In conducting effective pre and in-service teacher education, student teachers hold certain conceptions which the teacher educator attempts to change, modify or replace. It is therefore advantageous to have some form of description of conceptions available to the instructor.

Teachers conducting out-of-class experiences need to understand the experience in order to conduct those that are both worthwhile and valuable. Therefore any study that adds to the body of knowledge that exists concerning the out-of-class experience will be valuable. Any further research would benefit from the researchers understanding the underlying assumptions and biases of practising teachers. In this area this research is of value.

A qualitative design was used and a phenomenographic approach adopted. Phenomenography is a research method used to map the 'qualitatively different ways in which people experience or think about various phenomenon' (Marton, 1986: 3 1 ). The subjects were interviewed individually and the transcripts analysed. The result of this research is the compilation of categories of descriptions (including a label, description and illustrative quotes from individual interview transcripts) and an outcome space (graphic illustration of the relationships or structural linkages between the various categories of description).

It was found that secondary teachers appear to view the out-of-class experience in six qualitatively different ways. The six ways in which teachers view the out-of-class experiences are: • as an educational activity beyond the regular classroom, • as an adjunct to learning, • as an essential educational component, • as a discipline risk, • as an administrative exercise and • as a type of teaching/learning experience. The conceptions tend to fall into one of two distinct approaches to the out-ofclass expe1ience. These are student centred and teacher centred. When reviewing the literature concerning the area of out-of-class experiences in light of the conceptions found in this study, it is possible to associate the conceptions found in this study, it is possible to associate the conceptions held by the researchers and authors with one or more of the six conceptions outlined. It was found that the literature covered a naITow field of views. Although much has been written there are still large gaps in our knowledge and, understanding and fmiher diverse research is needed to fill these voids.