The new goals outlined for museums in recent reports are in line with the efforts to improve the public's civic and practical scientific literacy. We have made a preliminary exploration of the potential of museums to provide information and experiences that the audience finds relevant in the context of science-related issues they encounter in their private or civic lives. We found that for a group of parents faced with the issue of radon in their children's school, two museums in Oslo were not seen as having such a function; neither did the parents expect museums to have such a role. Professionals from the two museums expressed similar attitudes. If this skepticism toward the new goals is widespread, museums face a great challenge concerning how to relate to the new goals. Based on our findings, we suggest some pertinent issues for future research.

Teachers find the implementation of fieldwork challenging. Therefore, this study investigates two teachers' implementation of theoretical guidelines for studentcentered fieldwork activities, following their participation in a professional development course focusing on earth science fieldwork pedagogy. Video observation and instructional artifacts were collected and analyzed using various indicators, including the quality of the learning activities, the types of talk, teacher questions, the focus of student initiatives, and how the students engaged in the learning activities. The results revealed that the teachers implemented the guidelines through two totally different fieldwork designs. In one case, called the linear teacher-dominated fieldwork design, there were clear differences between indicators in the classroom and those in the field. In the field, teacher dominance was reduced, and students were more active and focused on the content. In the other case, the teacher developed an integrated inquiry-based fieldwork design that involved alternating between the classroom and the field as well as using inquiry-based learning activities. The teacher had a reduced role in terms of talk and questioning, and to a large extent, students showed deeper engagement. Notably, in both cases, the learning process and student engagement deteriorated during the follow-up phase. Finally, on the basis of these findings, recommendations for fieldwork designs are discussed.

This study investigates how teaching can support students' ability to apply rock identification by addressing scientific observation. In the context of geology education in Norway, we investigate two cases in which different approaches to teaching rock identification are carried out. Case A involves traditional teaching activities in one class of upper secondary school students, while Case B consists of teaching activities focusing on observation in a class of elementary school students. The study relies on analysis of video data using headcams from classroom activities and fieldwork. A year later, we asked the same students to apply rock identification to samples that were new to them. Results indicate that the teaching approach influenced the students' opportunities for developing an understanding of rock identification. The students in case A identified the samples by applying specific names of rocks and geological terminology, which led to errors and misconnections. Their application of rock identification can be characterized as name-dropping. By contrast, the students in case B identified rocks by noticing the patterns. They also explained theories of rock formation and geological terminology, thus demonstrating understanding. We discuss how the findings from case B can be translated into a tool for teaching rock identification.

This article discusses the potential of small head mounted camera (headcam) to collect video data indicating student learning processes in science across time and settings (classroom and field). Empirical examples from two Norwegian research projects; one on integrating science inquiry and literacy in elementary school and the other on learning geoscience through fieldwork in upper secondary school; are used to demonstrate the potential contribution of headcam to science education research. We propose that headcam videos provide opportunities for observing features of science teaching and learning from new angles: following students during movement, connecting students’ verbal interactions and interaction with physical objects, students’ written products in the making, and students’ development of understanding over time. However, we also experienced that headcam videos exposed some unwanted observations. The discussion of implications addresses the advantages and limitations of using headcams, including concerns arising from unwanted observations.