Out-of-School Learning to Achieve the Spatial Perception Skills: A Case Study

Abstract

The cognitive depiction and comprehension of the structure, existence and relations of a place and its
reflection and restructuring in the mind of a place is called spatial perception. Individuals’ perceptions
of place vary according to their environmental awareness, knowledge and impressions. The ability of
individuals to perceive their surroundings, adapt to the places they are in and regulate their lives better
depends on the sophistication of their perceptions of spatial. In order to develop the ability to perceive
spatial, spatial skills such as spatial depiction, spatial representation, spatial analysis, and spatial
evaluation need to be developed. The fact that the characteristics of the spatial give an idea of how the
place can be perceived and the interaction of the individual with the place is important in developing
the perception skills of the spatial brings to the fore out-of-school learning. The aim of this study is to
examine the effects of the activities of a social studies education project carried out within the scope of
TÜBITAK 4004 Nature Education and Science Schools Support Program on the ability to perceive
spatial and the use of outdoor school places in the teaching of this skill. The study was conducted with
a case study, one of the qualitative research types. The study group consisted of 30 teacher candidates
selected by criterion sampling. The data obtained by open-ended questionnaire and document analysis
were evaluated by content analysis. The research also shows that the activities applied according to the
findings are effective in teaching the perception of spatial and the ability to perceive place. Teacher
candidates have stated that they are able to recognize the place, objects and assets around them through
activities outside the school and improve their perception skills by applying them.