Prior Experiences Shaping Family Science Conversations at a Nature Center

Autor/inn/en	McClain, Lucy R.; Zimmerman, Heather Toomey
Titel	Prior Experiences Shaping Family Science Conversations at a Nature Center
Quelle	In: Science Education, 98 (2014) 6, S.1009-1032 (24 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0036-8326
DOI	10.1002/sce.21134
Schlagwörter	Science Teaching Centers; Science Education; Informal Education; Outdoor Education; Prior Learning; Video Technology; Family Programs; Interpersonal Communication; Natural Resources; Reference Groups + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Informelle Bildung; Nichtformale Bildung; Freiluftunterricht; Vorkenntnisse; Family program; Familienprogramm; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Natural Ressource; Natürliche Ressource; Reference group; Bezugsgruppe
Abstract	Using families as the analytical focus, this study informs the field of informal science education with a focus on the role of prior experiences in family science conversations during nature walks at an outdoor-based nature center. Through video-based research, the team analyzed 16 families during walks at a nature center. Each family's prior science learning experience provided conversational strategies for learning together as a social group and when making meaning out of observations in the outdoors. This analysis provides three main findings: (1) families frequently tapped into a vast repertoire of previous experiences during conversations about nature and very often, explicitly sourced a specific prior experience in their dialogue with one another; (2) when families sourced a prior experience, they almost exclusively named an experience from a nonschool setting, with everyday experiences, designed spaces (i.e., informal institutions), and programs for science learning being the most common experiences cited; and (3) families leveraged references to prior experiences during family science conversations to serve four primary facilitation processes in conversation: reminding, prompting, explaining, and orienting. Implications from this study emphasize the importance of referencing previous life experiences during family science conversations as a meaning-making tool and for additional research on families learning science in outdoor education spaces. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10