Abstract
This study was carried out to determine adolescents’ perception of scientific inquiry (SI) in nature and the effect of a science camp on those perceptions. Eleven science campers (14 to 16 years old) participated in this research during a science camp. Pre- and post-test included open questions and drawing tasks. The campers’ drawings were analyzed to assess their out-of-school perceptions related to SI. The aim was to clarify what phases and factors the campers associated with SI in nature, and how their perceptions differ after participating at a science camp. The findings suggest that the phases of SI were well known before the camp, but minor developments in campers’ perceptions of the phases of SI did occur. In the drawing analysis, symbols from a range of areas were identified. The symbols most frequently referred to the natural environment. The drawings in the post-test were generally more detailed than those in the pre-test. In particular, symbols of technology and laboratory equipment appeared more frequently after the science camp.
Highlights
Out-of-school learningLearning science outside of school is a theme that interests adolescents
Our study addressed the following research question: What differences can be observed for adolescents regarding phases and factors associate with scientific inquiry in nature after participating at a science camp? We analyzed adolescents’ views before and after a science camp
Adolescents were asked to answer the following open question: “Write in as much detail as you can on which phases you think belong to scientific inquiry.”
Summary
Out-of-school learningLearning science outside of school is a theme that interests adolescents. Out-of-school contexts can stimulate adolescents to think more deeply about science and provide new connections with the field (Braund & Reiss, 2006a). A learning environment outside of formal education supports chemistry learning by providing learners with a wide range of experimental methods (Nuora, 2016). It helps them deepen their knowledge of things they have learned previously. Rennie (2007) observed that many out-of-school activities have a short duration This affects the impact of those experiences, meaning it may come later. Uitto, Juuti, Lavonen and Meisalo (2006) investigated Finnish 15-year-old pupils and their interest in biology and their out-of-school experiences. They found that out-of-school experiences were the most important factor affecting the interest in biology
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