Abstract
Visits to museums and science centres are a part of most school science programs- but are they really learning experiences? By accompanying classes on visits and talking with the teachers and students during and after these visits, information has been gathered on the ways in which school groups currently use visits to two informal science learning settings in Sydney- a science education centre and a large museum. Comparison of the teacher and student behaviours on these visits with current views on good teaching/learning practice, reveals considerable anomalies. At the same time, reported studies of museum visitors suggest that family groups use museums for learning in ways which are quite different from the way most school groups do. Can these apparent mismatches be translated into a pathway for developing new approaches to learning in informal settings?
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Delaney, A. A. (1967) An experimental investigation of the effectiveness of the teacher's introduction on implementing a science field trip.Science Education, 51, 231–236.
Falk, J. H. & Balling, J. D. (1982) The field trip milieu: learning and behaviour as a function of contextual events.Journal of Educational Research, 76(1), 22–28.
Falk, J. H. & Dierking, L.D. (1992).The museum experience. Washington, D.C.: Whalesback Books.
Falk, J. H., Koran, J. J. & Dierking, L. D. (1986) The things of science: assessing the learning potential of science museums.Science Education, 70(5), 503–508.
Gennaro, E. D. (1981) The effectiveness of using previsit instructional materials on learning for a museum field trip experience.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 18(3), 275–279.
Hein, G.F. (1990). Teaching without schooling, learning without experts.The Exploratorium- the museum as laboratory. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Press.
Koran, J.J. & Baker, S.D. (1978) Evaluating the effectiveness of field trip experiences. In M.B. Rowe (Ed)What research says to the science teacher, 2, 50–67. Washington, D.C.: National Science Teachers' Association.
Koran, J.J., Morrison, L., Lehman, J., Koran, M.L. & Gandara, L. (1984) Attention and curiosity in museumsJournal of Research in Science Teaching, 21(4), 357–363.
McManus, P. M. (1992) Topics in Museums and Science Education.,Studies in Science Education, 20, 157–182.
Price, S. & Hein, G.E. (1991) More than a field trip: science programmes for elementary school groups at museums.International Journal of Science Education, 13(5), 505–519.
Ramey-Gassert, L., Walberg, H.J. & Walberg, H.J. (1994) Reexamining connections: museums as science learning environments.Science Education, 84(4), 345–363.
Reynolds, S.S. (1984) How to unstuff a museum: a preschool teacher's guide.Curator, 27(1), 59–64.
Stronck, D. R. (1983). The comparative effects of different museum tours on children's attitudes and learning.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 20, (4), 283–290.
Tuckey, C. (1992). Children's informal learning at an interactive science centre,International Journal of Science Education, 14 (3), 273–278.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Specializations: Learning science in informal settings, primary science and technology education, biology teacher education.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Griffin, J. Learning to learn in informal science settings. Research in Science Education 24, 121–128 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02356336
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02356336