The Social Studies and Science Pre-Service Teachers' Experiences of Creative Comics for Environmental Education

Abstract

The aim of the study is to reveal the experiences of social studies and science pre-service teachers on the use of creative comics in the teaching of subjects related to environmental education. Since this study focuses on the pre-service teachers' experiences was used phenomenology design. A totally of 65 pre-service teachers participated in the study (35 social studies teacher candidates, and 30 science teacher candidates). Within the scope of the research, environmental education was given to pre-service teachers during one semester. This education process also includes creating and using creative comics in environmental education. Semi-structured interviews and observations were used as data collection methods. Thematic analysis method was used in the analysis of the data. The results of the research show that creative comics can be used as an alternative teaching material in environmental education. According to pre-service teachers, creative comics enrich the learning environment. Results of the research, teachers need to pay attention to some issues for efficient use of creative comics. When using creative comics, teachers should keep students away from competition and negative criticism, which can negatively affect creativity.