Informal Science Experiences Research Articles

Assessing educational parity of Bahamian students’ formal and informal science experiences by comparing three key demographic factors

ABSTRACT Background Among all nations, it is vital that K-12 students understand and perceive the value of science, which requires that students have equitable access to a broad and comprehensive set of science experiences, both inside and outside of the classroom, regardless of demography. Purpose Bahamian students were surveyed on their in/formal science experiences to compare adolescent learners’ access to science by three key demographic variables: gender (boy or girl), school location (rural or urban) and school type (public or private). Sample One thousand one hundred and five students, 14–16 years of age, from the main island of New Providence and seven of the most inhabited islands in The Bahamas. Design and Methods Two batteries of The Relevance of Science Education questionnaire: Section F of ‘My science classes’ (n = 16) and Section H of ‘My out of school experiences’ (n = 61) were analyzed at the construct level (t-test) and the item level (Mann–Whitney U) by each demographic variable. Results Analyses indicate students’ formal (in school) experiences varied most by gender, whereas students’ informal (out of school) science experiences varied most by school location. Conclusion Findings suggest different science experiences at school based upon students’ gender and reduced access to science among students in rural areas and off the mainland. This research provides an impetus for gender and geographic parity for Bahamian science learners.

A whale of a time: engaging in a war of values for youth activism in science education

Exposure and experience with ethical dilemmas and controversial socioscientific issues provide a link to students’ lives or a pathway for sympathy/empathy and care, where youth use emotion to engage with the scenario and develop critical thinking skills to respond to ethical issues. For this theoretical paper, I focus on how informal science can be used in science classes to provide such exposure and experience, creating spaces for students to foster erotic relationships with the nature-Other and their local environment. More specifically, this paper aims to discuss how educators can use these informal science experiences, and in this case—those involving marine mammals, to find value for natural phenomena through erotic generosity and phenomenological experiences within the environment and use their knowledge and power to act responsibly.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION IN UNDERPRIVILEGED AREAS: THE CASE STUDY OF THE ALL-GIRLS “SCHOOL OF ASTRONOMY AND PHYSICS BY MIRWAT” IN PAKISTAN AND VIRTUAL VISITS TO THE VIRGO INTERFEROMETER

As the world witnessed a swift change in every walk of life during the SARS-Cov2 pandemic, flexibility and adaption remained the key components for staying relevant in the field of science education. However, beyond the need for quick adaptation and acquisition of digital skills by both teachers and students, the digital transformation in education has opened up a window of opportunity making global and remote engagement possible for everyone. This paper presents the good practice of Virtual Visits to Virgo Gravitational Wave Detector coorganized by EGO-Virgo, the FRONTIERS and REINFORCE EU funded projects and the “School of Astronomy and Physics by Mirwat” with the participation of high school girls from Islamabad and remote regions of Pakistan. This paper presents the prospect of international collaboration for STEM education, early exposure to research environment to build the deeper understanding of the functioning and working of large research infrastructure, building science identity by informal science experiences and to empower the high school students by engagement in content creation activity. The experience indicates a positive outcome and improvement in understanding of students as well as a step towards building a science identity among them.

Examining the relationship between informal science experiences and physics identity: Unrealized possibilities

Informal learning experiences in physics reinforce stereotypical practices, fail to intersect in positive ways with the biological sciences, and continue to be less accessible to students from historically marginalized groups.

Falling in love and staying in love with science: ongoing informal science experiences support fascination for all children

ABSTRACTAges 10–14 mark a period in which children develop a strong sense of whether science is ‘for them,’ a time that typically coincides with the start of middle school in the United States and their first exposure to more rigorous science classes and testing. Experiences with science in and out of school can shape children's motivation to choose science careers or participate in voluntary science classes later on, for better or worse. We explore the hypothesis that children who engage in more informal educational science experiences at the start of this period are more likely than their peers to obtain and maintain interest, curiosity, and mastery goals in science (together forming a construct called fascination). We measured 983 children's fascination with science at the beginning and middle of sixth grade. We found that the children who participated in informal science during this time were more likely to maintain or have greater fascination than at the start. These findings held while also controlling for many potentially confounding covariates and are robust across subgroups by gender and race/ethnicity. Further, the effects are largest for those children whose family generally supports their learning.

How Preservice Elementary Teachers Develop Their Personal Philosophies About Science Teaching: The Role of Informal Science Approaches

The purpose of this case study was to explore how (if in any way) three informal science approaches as part of a teacher preparation program could shape preservice teachers’ personal philosophies of science teaching and learning. Data were collected in a period of two academic semesters in the context of an elementary methods course through the following sources: science autobiographies, personal philosophies about science teaching, drawings about their most memorable and least memorable experiences of science, three reflective journals about the three informal science experiences (i.e., working with scientists, field, science festival), lesson plans, responses to final exam questions, observations, and semi-structured interviews. The participants were 16 preservice elementary teachers, seven males and nine females. Open coding techniques were used to analyse the data in order to construct categories and subcategories and eventually to identify emerging themes. The outcomes of the analysis showed that the inclusion of informal learning in teachers’ preparation has the potential to support preservice teachers’ in reconstructing their ideas about science and science teaching in ways that are aligned with reform efforts emphasizing student engagement, working with scientists, and utilizing out-of-school spaces for learning.

Informal Science Experiences among Urban and Rural Youth: Exploring Differences at the Intersections of Socioeconomic Status, Gender and Ethnicity.

The current study explores patterns of informal science experiences among youth in urban and rural middle schools by gender and socioeconomic status. Data come from surveys in two Midwestern middle schools, one in a mid-sized city, and the other in a rural-remote town. We asked about participation in informal science activities (e.g. visiting zoos or museums, or watching shows about science) and if youth had participated in science-focused clubs in the last 12 months (e.g. after-school science clubs, 4-H, scouts). Rural youth reported lower rates of participation in after-school science clubs and a greater desire to participate in after-school science programming than urban youth. Latino/a youth tend to have fewer informal science experiences than non-Latino/a youth, particularly in urban areas. There were few differences in informal science experiences between boys and girls, but in urban areas, girls report more science experiences than boys. Reported science experiences are overall higher in urban areas, yet youth with fewer resources (i.e. books in the home) have fewer informal science experiences overall. This study sheds new light on how socioeconomic status, gender, ethnicity, and geography interact with one another to shape youth science exposure and interest.

Rethinking the Existentialist ‘Crisis of Interest’ in School Science through Culturally Responsive African Curriculum of STEM Science

Many secondary teacher educators are challenged by failure to rekindle interest in science content with future teachers who often express a lifetime of negative associations with school science. This study involved science teachers in a participatory action research project to investigate the fear of STEM science as a field of study for African students. One way to enhance interest is through informal science experiences immersed in teaching through integration (e.g., of mobile technologies or immersing students in the natural environment). Findings of the study revealed that science education is desperately in need of reform. Teachers observed that science subjects continue to be taught using traditional means of “chalk and talk.” They noted that failure to resolve this crisis is likely to contribute to learners’ disenchantment with school science, drop- out from school or likely engender students’ bearing long-term disinterest in formal science education. This fear originated from a long-standing myth that science is a hard subject, a misconception that must be overcome by any means necessary.

Young children’s emergent science competencies in everyday family contexts: a case study

ABSTRACTTo address the lack of research in early science learning and young children’s informal science experiences, this exploratory case study investigated a 7-year-old girl’s (Abigail) emergent science competencies and how they are related to her science experiences in everyday family contexts. Data sources included observations, interviews, parent journals, and the child’s digital journals that were collected over six months. Open-ended coding and constant comparison were used to analyse data. Findings revealed that Abigail’s emergent science competencies were naïve but playful and included a developing, but sophisticated, understanding of the nature of science; family learning included both spontaneous and purposeful learning that contributed to her naïve theories and islands of expertise; and her mother’s scaffolding played an important role in her emergent science competencies. The study suggests ways to connect formal science learning with informal science engagement to further young children’s science competencies.

The dimensions and impact of informal science learning experiences on middle schoolers’ attitudes and abilities in science

ABSTRACTLearners encounter science in a wide variety of contexts beyond the science classroom which collectively could be quite influential on student attitudes and abilities. But relatively little is known about the relative influence of different forms of informal science experiences, especially for the kinds of experiences that students typically access. We conduct factor and regression analyses on data collected from a large number of diverse public-school attending 6th and 8th graders drawn from two regions in the USA. Students completed a science reasoning measure and surveys of attitudes, previously completed informal science learning experiences, and demographic factors. Factor analyses identify four dimensions of informal science learning participation (in home, semiformal, nature, and museums). Regression analyses find a relative specificity of effects, with particular outcomes associated with a subset of the forms of informal science participation, highlighting the importance of controlling for correlated factors. There were also a few differences by grade level, with different experiences influencing the development of competency beliefs in science in early vs. late middle schoolers.

Informal Science: Family Education, Experiences, and Initial Interest in Science

Recent research and public policy have indicated the need for increasing the physical science workforce through development of interest and engagement with informal and formal science, technology, engineering, and mathematics experiences. This study examines the association of family education and physical scientists’ informal experiences in science along with the association of informal family science experiences and early initial interest in science through multiple and logistic regression analyses. Research questions addressed are as follows: Controlling for demographic variables, do physical scientists parents’ level of education associate with participation in informal family science experiences? And which informal family science experiences are associated with physical scientists that report an initial personal interest in science by elementary school? These questions are analyzed with survey data from Project Crossover (N = 4,285), a sequential mixed-methods study that examines factors influencing entrance into physical science doctoral programs as well as the transition from graduate students to independent researcher. Results indicate that families with higher parental education are more likely to take part in informal science experiences and therefore more likely to provide positive encouragement for their children to develop an early interest in science. Detailed analyses show that the following family forms of informal science education: occupation, diversions and hobbies, and encouragement are associated with an early initial interest in science by elementary school.

Reconceptualizing Elementary Teacher Preparation: A case for informal science education

The purpose of this case study was to explore the ways in which 3 different informal science experiences in the context of an elementary methods course influenced a group of prospective elementary teachers' ideas about science teaching and learning as well as their understandings about the role of informal science environments to teaching and learning. In order to address this question, data were collected in a period of an academic semester through the following sources: journal entries for each of the 3 experiences, a personal teaching philosophy statement and a 2-hour long semi-structured interview with each of the 12 participants. Open coding techniques were used to analyze the data in order to construct categories and subcategories and eventually to identify emerging themes. The outcomes of the analysis showed that the inclusion of informal science experiences in the context of teacher preparation has the potential to support beginning elementary teachers' development of contemporary ideas about science teaching and learning related to inquiry-based science, the nature of scientific work and the work of scientists, connecting science with everyday life, and making science fun and personally meaningful. These findings are discussed alongside implications for policy, teacher preparation, and research under these themes: (a) addressing reform recommendations; (b) developing positive orientations toward science and science teaching; and (c) constructing understandings about scientists' work.

Getting Students Outside: Using Technology as a Way to Stimulate Engagement

Informal environments provide students with unique experiences that allow them to actively participate in activities while promoting a positive attitude toward and an increased interest in science. One way to enhance informal science experiences is through the integration of mobile technologies. This integration is particularly useful in engaging underrepresented students in learning science. Our informal environmental science program engages underrepresented, fifth-grade students in an informal learning environment supplemented with mobile tablet technology (iPads). The purpose of this study was to explore how fifth-grade students interacted with nature using mobile technology during a nature hike series. Participants included 55 fifth-grade students from two low-income schools. We found that students used the mobile technology to explore nature and stay engaged throughout the hike. The iPads were used as references, data collectors, and engagement tools. Students had an intense desire in returning to the site and responded positively toward interacting with nature. Prior research has indicated that students in this age group are likely to lose interest in science and the incorporation of field-friendly technology that engages students with nature, not technology alone, is a useful tool for keeping students interested in science.

Critical Experiences for Field Geologists: Emergent Themes in Interest Development

ABSTRACTGeoscience education researchers are working to understand how we can most effectively increase our overall geoscience workforce capacity. The present study employed an inductive approach to explore the critical experiences that led to the persistence of successful field geologists in this STEM field. Interviews with 29 professional field geologists and 8 upper level undergraduates were analyzed to identify emergent themes. Three overarching themes emerged: Academic Experiences, Connections with People, and Engagement with Earth. Academic experiences, such as introductory courses and field trips, were commonly mentioned as being significant in recruitment. Relationships with people, such as professors and family members, provided encouragement for and exposure to geology-related activities. Participants provided detailed description of the regional geology where they grew up and the geology of locales from family trips as experiences with Earth influenced their interest in geology. The results of this study validate past studies of recruitment and retention of geoscientists, particularly in the influence of academic experiences on interest in geology. However, the abundance of themes related to the role of family, engagement in outdoor recreation, and personal experiences with local geology underscores the importance of informal science experiences for fostering choice and participation in field geology careers. Future models of retention and recruitment for the geosciences could benefit from emphasizing familial relationships and informal science experiences.

Gauging Merit in the Badge

Education![Figure][1] CREDIT: DOUGLAS C. PIZAC/AP PHOTO The Boy Scout merit badge program is an informal educational experience allowing Scouts to explore a variety of subjects, including science. Scouts can earn up to 23 science merit badges. General requirements for science merit badges use verbs such as show, demonstrate, make, list, discuss, collect, identify, and label. Vick and Garvey use the revised Bloom's taxonomy, a method for evaluating educational goals on the basis of six levels of cognitive processes (remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating) to assess these requirements. Frequency counts of verbs; the actions Scouts had to take; and elements, the number of times that a Scout performed a certain skill, were used to evaluate the level of cognitive processes required to earn a science merit badge. Results showed that although these requirements involved factual recall, personal understanding, and application of the material, evaluation and creativity, considered to be higher-level thinking skills, did not receive much emphasis. Although familiarity with scientific terms is not an unacceptable goal, providing only this in informal science experiences is a missed opportunity, and Scouting and other informal education programs will benefit from the addition of more requirements that use evaluation and creation. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Edu. 6 , 173 (2011). [1]: pending:yes

Intentions of young students to enroll in science courses in the future: An examination of gender differences

This study examined young students' perceptions of gender-appropriate science courses. The sample consisted of 427 students in grades 4, 5, and 6, between the ages of 9 and 13. Students completed the Course Selection Sheet (CSS)to choose courses for themselves and members of the opposite gender. A psychosocial framework was of- fered to explain the differential course selection patterns between young boys and girls. The study reveals a strong gender effect pointing toward stereotypical perceptions of se- lected science courses for oneself (p # 0.01). When students selected science courses for the opposite gender, the evidence of gender-role stereotypes was even greater (p , 0.000). Course selection profiles imply that a reciprocal relationship exists in the number and kind of courses selected by girls and boys. A detailed analysis suggests that both boys and girls perceive physical science and technology-related courses as appropriate subjects for boys to study and life sciences as appropriate subjects for girls to study. Surprisingly, students' future science course selections resemble current enrollment data of master's and doctoral candidates. The students' perceptions of science are seen years prior to the actual encounter with the science courses listed on the course selection menu. These findings question the auspiciousness of programs designed to ameliorate gender differences in science during junior or senior high school years. Suggestions for school curriculum development and the importance of informal science experiences were examined. q 1999 John Wiley &

Utilising selected informal science experiences to teach science in inquiry-centred Nigerian classrooms

The formal and informal sciences can be integrated for the enhancement of training, research and teaching in the formal school system. The knowledge and methods of informal science, although regarded as crude, local or native, when embedded with formal science, can be subsequently developed and packaged as teaching innovation for the promotion of scientific knowledge, skill and training. This is the focus of this study where selected informal science experiences were used to teach some science concepts in inquiry-centred Nigerian classrooms. In inquiry-based lessons, teachers only act as facilitators and resources, creating the environment for investigations to take place. In the experiment, students' explorations were centred on informal science activities which were guided to be incorporated into the knowledge structure of formal science classroom experiences. Subjects were Senior Secondary School 11 male and female students taught the topic alkanols; types and preparation including concepts such as fermentation and the brewing process. Informal science activities involving the processing of cassava, grains and other local products were explored by subjects in the experimental group and there was a control group whose subjects were not exposed to informal science activities. Differences in the cognitive and affective learning outcomes of students from the two groups upon data analyses were found to be significant with sex playing a major role. Implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations were made.