Explanatory parent–child conversation predominates at an evolution exhibit

Tare, Medha; French, Jason A.; Frazier, Brandy N.; Diamond, Judy; Evans, E. Margaret

doi:10.1002/sce.20433

Cited by 71 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…In addition to quality of teachers and schools, focusing on improving parents' efforts towards their children's education can also have a significant impact and could complement the efforts of teachers and schools. Among the home factors that can affect science achievement, many studies have focused on the role played by socioeconomic status (SES), parenting styles and involvement (Smith & Hausafus, 1998;Szechter & Carey, 2009;Tare, French, Frazier, Diamond, & Evans, 2011) and parental attitudes towards education (Chen, 2001). PISA also offers some responses about parents' attitudes towards science (the importance placed on science and how much it is valued).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Parents' Attitudes Towards Science and their Children's Science Achievement

Perera

2014

International Journal of Science Education

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confidence: 99%

Parents' Attitudes Towards Science and their Children's Science Achievement

Perera

2014

International Journal of Science Education

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“…Previous research on parent-child interactions in museums supports this hypothesis; parents infrequently provide explanations to their children and the few explanations that parents do provide at museums are shallow and brief (e.g., Crowley et al 2001). Moreover, when parents do provide explanations, they are typically repeating information from exhibit labels, which provides children with more information (Allen 2002;Tare et al 2011). In brief, these findings suggest that adults may provide children with all information that is readily available to them, whether it is helpful or not helpful for children's learning.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…Observations of parent-child interactions at museum exhibits has revealed that parents do not consistently provide explanations for scientific phenomena and, when parents do provide explanations, parents typically provide brief shallow descriptions that fail to fully explain the science concepts (termed Bexplanatoids^; Crowley et al 2001). Parents' explanations to children often incorporate beneficial characteristics of explanations, such as analogies, causal relationships, and connections to prior knowledge (Crowley et al 2001;Tare et al 2011;Valle and Callanan 2006), but may be constructed from information on exhibit labels (Allen 2002;Tare et al 2011). In brief, adults rarely provide explanations to children in science museums and, when they do, they are brief and heavily supported by exhibit information.…”

Section: How Do We Assess the Quality Of Science Explanations?mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The majority of research on science explanations that adults provide to children has been conducted in the context of naturalistic studies of parents talking to children in science museums (Crowley et al 2001;Crowley et al 2001;Haden 2010;Tare et al 2011;Valle and Callanan 2006). Observations of parent-child interactions at museum exhibits has revealed that parents do not consistently provide explanations for scientific phenomena and, when parents do provide explanations, parents typically provide brief shallow descriptions that fail to fully explain the science concepts (termed Bexplanatoids^; Crowley et al 2001).…”

Section: How Do We Assess the Quality Of Science Explanations?mentioning

confidence: 98%

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Talking to children about science is harder than we think: characteristics and metacognitive judgments of explanations provided to children and adults

Vlach

Noll

2016

Metacognition Learning

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Adults modify the way they speak to children to support children's learning across several domains. However, no previous research has studied whether adults change their language when explaining science to children. The current study examined if and how adults change the manner in which they talk about science when providing explanations to children vs. providing explanations to other adults. Participants (N = 81) were video recorded while explaining basic science concepts to children and adults. Recordings were later analyzed to determine if and how participants changed the quality and content of their explanations. The results confirmed that adults did change their explanations when talking to children about science by providing more potentially beneficial, but also disadvantageous, information. Participants perceived that they provided more accurate explanations to children, but appeared to be making metacognitive judgments largely based upon the changes made that could be beneficial to learning. Taken together, this work suggests that science may be a domain in which adults are not well equipped to modify and monitor their language to children.Developmental and educational psychologists have long been interested in how children's social environment influences cognitive development. A significant body of research has demonstrated that adults in children's environment, such as parents, teachers, and caregivers, play an instrumental role in guiding children's learning and thinking (e.g., Bronfenbrenner 1977;Bruner 1996;Vygotsky 1962Vygotsky , 1978. Sociocultural theories of development have proposed that one way adults promote children's learning is by changing the manner in which Metacognition Learning

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“…Children were twice as likely to talk about what they were seeing in a museum exhibit when their parents offered explanations. Similarly, at an exhibit on evolution, parents' use of explanatory conversation positively related to their children's use of explanatory and evolutionary conversation, indicating parents and children engaged in sophisticated talk about challenging content in an informal educational setting (Tare et al, 2011).…”

Section: Family Conversationsmentioning

confidence: 98%

An Exploration of Learning in A Living History Museum: Family Groups, Costumed Interpreters, their Interactions, and the Making of Meaning

Craig

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John B. Bunch, AdvisorFamily groups are a predominant museum-going demographic; an intact social group, within which members' actions and interactions of museum learning are socially and culturally constructed. Living history museums are the paramount of free-choice learning environments, full of possible avenues for exploration. The typical exhibits often contain little or no explanatory labeling, and a museum visitor's experience with objects and places becomes mediated through costumed interpreters instead of text.Utilizing a qualitative approach, this research was guided by questions concerning the learning experience of family groups in a living history museum. Specifically of interest were interactions with costumed interpreters, the role of identity and prior knowledge in living history museum learning, and the beliefs of both family groups and costumed interpreters in regard to museum learning. The study took place at a mediumsized outdoor history museum in Central Virginia. Six family groups, seven historical interpreters, and an upper level museum administrator participated. Data collection included observations of family visits, semi-structured interviews before, immediately after, and then 1-2 months after their visit, as well as observations, in-depth interviews, and short reflective chats with the costumed interpreters. Relevant documents were collected including museum information, educational programming materials, and photos taken by visiting children. Using Erickson's (1986) model of analytic induction, eight assertions were produced to explore the experience in a living history museum. These findings address museum learning on the organizational, interpreter, family, and individual levels. The organizational intent of the museum to educate the public, and the beliefs that costumed interpreters are educators who must balance education and entertainment as they enact the museum's curriculum, influence the interactions between the interpreters and family members. Family members identify the museum as an opportunity to experience history up close, while individuals establish personal connections to the museum through their prior knowledge, family history, and imaginative play. Individual learning outcomes for the museum visits vary considerably, as the museum's intentions for learning are transformed through the successive interpretations of the costumed interpreters, the family group as a whole, and the prior knowledge and identity of the individual family members.

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Explanatory parent–child conversation predominates at an evolution exhibit

Cited by 71 publications

References 51 publications

Parents' Attitudes Towards Science and their Children's Science Achievement

Parents' Attitudes Towards Science and their Children's Science Achievement

Talking to children about science is harder than we think: characteristics and metacognitive judgments of explanations provided to children and adults

An Exploration of Learning in A Living History Museum: Family Groups, Costumed Interpreters, their Interactions, and the Making of Meaning

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