A Student’s-Eye View: What 4th Grade Students Describing Their Visit to a Science Museum Recall as Significant

Interdisciplinarity in Teacher Education: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of an Educational Innovation Project

“…If we consider the results obtained from the students who formed part of the Test Group, they coincide with those from other studies relating to museum-based interventions [57,59], which confirm that the primary school children who were involved in the interdisciplinary experience had a positive perception of museums as places for learning.…”

“…The National Archaeological Museum was used as educational resource as museums are privileged spaces that address different topics [54][55][56][57][58][59], they enable knowledge to be shared and therefore offer a source of inspiration for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary proposals which involve both History [59,60] and Mathematics [33]. Numerous studies highlight the important role that museums have as cultural spaces and learning communities [46,54,55,57,58,61,62], both from a student's perspective [57][58][59]63,64], as well as a teacher's perspective [56,65]. Furthermore, interdisciplinary project practice was included in the teacher education (role-play at the NAM, simulating the role of students and future teachers), so that the preservice teachers had the opportunity to experience the difficulties of performing the dual role of student and teacher [66].…”

Engaging the hands, heads, and hearts in a medical simulation informal learning environment

“…In addition, it seems that despite growing research in the field, few researchers have examined how these informal learning environments are supposed to close the gap between the present situation and the desired one. Our study addresses the gap identified by Feinstein and Meshoulam (2014) and Dawson (2017), and continues previous work on equality in the context of science education in Israel (Sedawi, Ben Zvi Assaraf, & Cwikel, 2014; Shaby et al, 2017a; Tal, 2020). Our study of students from (Jewish) underserved communities visiting a science center over three consecutive years found that the instruction those students get in a museum is commonly technical, or such that focuses mainly on engaging them with the exhibit emotionally rather than encouraging them to understand phenomena and principles (Shaby, Ben Zvi Assaraf, & Tal, 2017b).…”

“…The model was used by Falk and Storksdieck (2005), for example, to study adult free‐choice visits to science centers. It framed studies on bridging school and informal learning environments (Eshach, 2007), and it is widely used in studies of school visits to informal science environments (Bamberger & Tal, 2007; Braund & Reiss, 2004; Shaby, Ben Zvi Assaraf, & Tal, 2017a). Following Lemke (2001), who emphasized the importance of social interactions in teaching and learning science, wherever they occur, we see students as active learners who work collaboratively in small groups, discuss ideas and beliefs, and debate about “proper treatment and actions” to be executed on their “patients.” During the activities, the students consider alternatives in a problem‐based environment.…”

Embodied interactions in a science museum

“…A visitor's experience at a science museum comprises a broad array of interactions, including interactions with the exhibits (Allen, 2004;Shaby et al, 2017b), museum educators (Bamberger & Tal, 2007;Rahm, 2004;Shaby et al, 2019a), peers (Ash et al, 2007;Rahm, 2004;Shaby et al, 2019b), and family (Ash, 2003;Ellenbogen, 2002; SHABY AND VEDDER-WEISS | 939 . Learning experiences through these interactions go far beyond the cognitive dimension and entail interconnected physical, affective, esthetic, social, moral, and identity dimensions (Anderson, 2012).…”