Student Perceptions of Interest, Learning, and Engagement from an Informal Traveling Science Museum

Abstract

Informal Science Education (ISE) programs have been increasing in popularity in recent years. The National Research Council has laid out six strands that ISE programs should try to address, including increasing interest, knowledge, and allowing participants to engage in scientific activities. Past research suggests that informal settings can increase interest in science and may lead to knowledge gains. This study examined the impact of a unique ISE program that resembles a traveling museum and offers small‐scale, interactive experiences. Affective outcomes and self‐reported learning outcomes of the students who participated in the program were examined. In general, students reported increases in science interest and some knowledge gains. Students also reported they thought the program allowed them to engage in science. There were differences in student responses based on grade level, with intermediate elementary students more likely to report greater knowledge gains and more likely to see the educational value of the experience. Interestingly, middle school students were more likely to value the social aspects of the experience, another important aspect of ISE. This study provides some insight into the connections between the different ISE strands of informal science education and offers suggestions for future research.

Science identity trajectories throughout school visits to a science museum

“…As best friends, Ori, Peleg, and Nofar tended to stick together throughout all six visits. This became even more apparent in sixth grade (see also Sample McMeeking, Weinberg, Boyd, & Balgopal, ). This exposes an additional tension: On the one hand, school fieldtrips are intended to be fun and allow leisurely social activity that brings students closer together.…”

Factors Related to Students’ Perception of Learning During Outdoor Science Lessons in Schools’ Immediate Surroundings

“…Only a few studies in the last few years have focused on students' perceptions of learning in science. We have identified different data collection strategies in this regard, such as interviews (Roberts et al, 2018), reflection forms completed by students (Roberts et al, 2018), questionnaires (Jones, 2017;Sample McMeeking et al, 2016) and Likert-scale items (Aljaloud et al, 2019;Jeong et al, 2016), which seem to be the most promising strategy. For example, to study students' perceptions of learning in a science classroom, Jeong, González-Gómez, & Cañada-Cañada (2016, p. 751) used five-point Likert-scale items (e.g., "The instruction methodology used in this course helped me to understand easily scientific contents"; "The course as a whole was a valuable learning experience"), and in research aiming to understand how a smartphone clicker app can impact learning performance in a computer science class, Aljaloud et al (2019, p. 91) developed an online survey with Likert-scale items to measure students' perceptions of their learning performance (e.g., "Using the smartphone clicker app helped to improve my ability to comprehend the concepts in this module").…”

Informella lärmiljöers effekter på elevers lärande och intresse för naturvetenskap: En översikt

“…Tidigare forskning har visat att elever ofta kommer ihåg besök i informella lärmiljöer och att besöken dessutom har potential att påverka elevernas lärande och attityder [7,[28][29][30][31][32]. Studier har också visat att sådana effekter, speciellt gällande elevernas lärande, tenderar att påverkas positivt av stödjande uppföljningsaktiviteter i klassrummet [33][34][35].…”