Parents, Science, and Interest

Zimmerman, Heather Toomey; Perin, Suzanne; Bell, Philip

doi:10.1179/msi.2010.5.1.67

Cited by 24 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Other studies focus on the way family dynamics play out during the visit, where for example parents can be a 'bridge' or 'barrier' to the child's engagement with the content on display (e.g. Zimmerman, Perin and Bell 2010). In any case, these approaches to understanding engagement in informal education settings tend to concentrate on visitors' behaviour and social interaction, and/or the individual characteristics of the exhibit (Mutjaba et al 2018;Schwan, Grajal and Lewalter 2014).…”

Section: Interpretations Of Engagement In Science Museumsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums

DeWitt¹,

Nomikou²,

Godec³

2018

Museum Management and Curatorship

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Recognising and Valuing Student Engagement in Science Museums Student engagement with museum content is integral to the mission of many institutions, including science museums. Our research utilises a sociological lens to bring a new perspective on engagement in such spaces. Specifically, we draw on qualitative data from student visits to a science museum to explore what engagement might be possible, by whom, under what circumstances. The students in focus are of underrepresented backgrounds in the museum, and do not have high levels of science capital. Our findings reveal that moments of engagement occur when there is alignment between personal habitus and capital-the students' dispositions and practicesand the field, the museum's conventions and rules, as well as its objects and exhibits. However, this engagement was often with the historical or social aspects of exhibits, rather than the science behind them. We propose this approach to engagement as a useful reflection tool for museum practitioners.

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Section: Interpretations Of Engagement In Science Museumsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums

DeWitt¹,

Nomikou²,

Godec³

2018

Museum Management and Curatorship

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“…In informal learning research, parents adapt their facilitation strategies based on expressed interests (Crowley & Jacob, 2002;Zimmerman et al, 2010a), perceived traits or gender of the child (Crowley, Callanan, Tenenbaum, & Allen, 2001), and shared prior knowledge and experiences (McClain & Zimmerman, 2014a;Palmquist & Crowley, 2007;Zimmerman, 2012). Here, we add to these findings about facilitation that supports learners' interests in out-of-school settings to illustrate how maternal elders approached guided participation related to the field guide cultural tool with an eye not only toward individuals' interests but also towards balancing the interests of family members when in conflict.…”

Section: Balancing Access To Cultural Tools To Advance the Family's Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Family learning outdoors: Guided participation on a nature walk

Zimmerman

McClain

2015

J Res Sci Teach

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This informal learning research project examined how guided participation processes support the use of cultural tools (such as scientific equipment) during a nature walk at one nature center. This paper analyzed family interactions outdoors using microethnographic methods. An informal learning framework based on guided participation and cultural tools allowed for an in‐depth investigation of social facilitation used by a working class family: a grandmother, a mother, and two young sons. We identified three findings related to guided participation strategies that facilitated the use of cultural tools for this family, which are discussed in detail: (1) one guided participation process that emerged was the facilitating physical movements related to cultural tool use; (2) a second guided participation process that emerged was balancing the access to cultural tools to reflect family goals for both social harmony and supporting science interests; and (3) trail‐based designed learning settings where outdoor explorations occur are important, but understudied, sites of learning for rural families. Implications of the study included the analytical importance of the constructs of cultural tools, guided participation, and embodied science knowledge for advancing research on family learning related to biology and environmental sciences. The research also suggested an expanded view of what counts as an informal science learning institution by including nature trails and related outdoor spaces alongside museums, science centers, and zoos in order to represent the everyday learning activities of rural families. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 53: 919–942, 2016

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“…Although Charlie was equally enthusiastic about coding and computer programming, his opportunities for engaging in these activities were very different than Steve's. Charlie's parents, while nominally encouraging him to pursue his interests, gave him mixed messages by recognizing his interest in computers as too much screen time, thus acting as a barrier by reinforcing STEM‐related stereotypes (Zimmerman et al, 2010). Thus, Charlie, received only minimal adult support and encouragement, in part due to a lack of social capital to make his resource search effective (Wang, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways of interest and participation: How STEM‐interested youth navigate a learning ecosystem

et al. 2021

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Despite considerable efforts in recent years to encourage Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) interest and participation among youth, STEM interest during adolescence continues to decline. Recently, researchers, educators, and policymakers have used a learning ecology perspective to better understand the development and persistence of youth interest in STEM topics or activities. This study examined the dynamics of the STEM interest and participation pathways of three youth in an under‐resourced, urban community. These three cases offer insights into how youth with a strong interest in a STEM topic or activity perceived the resources that were available to them in a STEM learning ecosystem and highlight the affordances and constraints each faced in pursuit of their interests. We interviewed each youth 4–5 times during their middle school and high school years (ages 11–14). The analysis reinforces the unique nature of youth interest pathways, but also common factors that contributed to each of these pathways. The ability of youth to navigate the ecosystem depended on the availability and accessibility of both in‐ and out‐of‐school learning resources related to their interest, and the support they received from significant adults in their lives in terms of both social, cultural, and financial capital. This study offers important insights into how STEM learning ecosystems might best be structured to enable more youth to develop strong, enduring interests in STEM.

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Parents, Science, and Interest

Cited by 24 publications

References 12 publications

Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums

Recognising and valuing student engagement in science museums

Family learning outdoors: Guided participation on a nature walk

Pathways of interest and participation: How STEM‐interested youth navigate a learning ecosystem

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