Informal Science Learning Research Articles

Creating genetic applications for informal science learning in multi-user virtual environments

A team of developers at the Cornell Theory Center (CTC), Cornell University's high-performance computing and interdisciplinary research center, has implemented a 3D multi-user virtual science museum, SciCentr. SciCentr is a virtual world based on Active Worlds client/server technology. Related to gaming technology, and thus attractive to youth, virtual environments can be applied to formal and informal science education in areas such as genetics, as well as to language learning and social studies. In this paper, we review the current state of our understanding of the impact of this technology on informal science learning. We attempt to identify some of the advantages of using this technology, design features of our implementation, and ideas for managing the social interaction among educational users. More specifically, we will discuss pilot user experiences focused on crop genetics in SciCentr's Plant Breeding Beds and on the related SciFair exhibits, both examples of collaborative experiences in our virtual worlds. Finally, we describe the next stage in interactive interface development for our Gene Bot feature.

Learning Science beyond the Classroom

Science education reform documents call for science to be taught in the manner that students learn best, by conducting hands-on, engaging investigations using simple everyday materials. Often overlooked in the redesign of science education, informal science learning environments such as science centers, museums, and zoos provide students with captivating science experiences that can be related closely to curricular objectives. In this article I examine a cross-section of craft knowledge and research-based literature on science learning beyond the classroom, describe informal science education programs, and discuss implications for enhanced science teaching. The article focuses on the importance of informal science learning experiences, in the context of a variety of out-of-school science environments, for children and for in-service and preservice teachers. Informal science education environments provide students with unique, engaging science learning opportunities and classroom teachers with a wealth of ...

Training and development for informal science learning

This exploratory study assessed the need for training and development of both administrators and education directors working in informal learning environments in the United States. Further, the study identified useful and feasible methods to meet these needs. Finally, it suggested that informal science learning is understood as a collective entity.This study triangulated, or coordinated, various research and data analysis methods to provide a more effective base for understanding the proposed activities. Phase 1 consisted of interviewing persons knowledgeable about informal science learning. These data were analysed qualitatively and used to develop the Phase 2 survey, which was administered to practitioners in these environments. Data from the Phase 2 survey were measured quantitatively.Although results suggest that some kind of training is necessary for administrators, significantly more people strongly agree that education directors need training specifically oriented towards informal science learning. Training for either administrators or education directors should include development of the following skills and attributes: personnel skills, fund-raising skills, financial skills, enthusiasm about doing science with others, knowledge of diverse publics, ability to interact with diverse publics, and volunteer interaction skills.Data indicate that several methods would be very useful and feasible for training both administrators and education directors. These methods include: on-the-job training, a yearly one-week training activity, a degree program in a related field combined with a specific internship, and a series of training courses or seminars.Data suggest that informal science learning can be understood as a collective entity using descriptors such as: industry, field, profession and discipline. However, this study suggests that using environmental characteristics of informal science learning contexts (instead of conceptualising them as the opposite of formal education) may be valuable for better understanding these environments. This understanding might increase the attention given to informal science learning environments as integral components in a holistic view of human learning.

Bridging the Gap Between Formal and Informal Science Learning

(1996). Bridging the Gap Between Formal and Informal Science Learning. Studies in Science Education: Vol. 28, No. 1, pp. 87-112.

Learning to learn in informal science settings

Visits to museums and science centres are a part of most school science programs- but are they really learning experiences? By accompanying classes on visits and talking with the teachers and students during and after these visits, information has been gathered on the ways in which school groups currently use visits to two informal science learning settings in Sydney- a science education centre and a large museum. Comparison of the teacher and student behaviours on these visits with current views on good teaching/learning practice, reveals considerable anomalies. At the same time, reported studies of museum visitors suggest that family groups use museums for learning in ways which are quite different from the way most school groups do. Can these apparent mismatches be translated into a pathway for developing new approaches to learning in informal settings?

Newspaper science, school science: friends or enemies?

Learning through newspapers is considered an instance of informal science learning ‐ an area of learning which is notoriously difficult to assess, and its relationship with formal learning hard to unravel. It is argued that the science presented in newspapers can be of value in formal science education if used carefully and critically. From the other perspective, it is suggested that one of the aims of the science curriculum should be to develop in students both the will and the ability to study newspaper science with understanding and with healthy scepticism.

Factors Associated with the Relationship between Formal, Informal, and Nonformal Science Learning

Abstract The responses of 544 10th grade students to a questionnaire indicated that informal/nonformal science activities (discussions, watching TV, listening to the radio, reading, and other activities, such as visits to museums and field trips) were positively correlated with the following: the extent to which school science is conceived to be related to everyday life, attitudes toward science and science learning, parents' occupation, school environment, intentions for further study, and career aspirations. After-school discussion of what was learned in school was rated the most popular science activity, followed by watching TV, reading, engaging in science-related activities, and listening to the radio, respectively. Informal/nonformal science activities were found to be associated with a strong commitment to science and science learning.

A study of the latent effects of family learning courses in science

AbstractIt is well documented that students' exposure to science in the middle school is critical for their later selection of science courses, yet instruction time and course offerings in science during the middle school years are often limited. Out‐of‐School Science Experiences with funds from the National Science Foundation (DISE No. 07872) produced five short science courses intended for children in middle school grades (6, 7, and 8) and their parents that supplement normal science instruction based on topics that are integral to traditional science teaching. The courses were offered through Community Education programs and through informal science learning centers (e.g., zoos, museums, and planetariums). An added strength of the program is that it employs the family as a motivator and reinforcer in a cooperative learning venture. The study reported here is an attempt to determine participant reaction two to three years after having taken the courses, to the course experience, the influence that the courses had on subsequent learning behavior, and the relationship between parents and children.

An Introduction to the Nonformal Education of Children and Youth

Previous articleNext article No AccessPresidential AddressAn Introduction to the Nonformal Education of Children and YouthThomas J. La BelleThomas J. La Belle Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Comparative Education Review Volume 25, Number 3Oct., 1981 Sponsored by the Comparative and International Education Society Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/446234 Views: 18Total views on this site Citations: 13Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1981 The Comparative and International Education SocietyPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Zehavit Gross, Suzanne D. Rutland Experiential learning in informal educational settings, International Review of Education 63, no.11 (Feb 2017): 1–8.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-017-9625-6Jurgen Willems Individual perceptions on the participant and societal functionality of non-formal education for youth: Explaining differences across countries based on the human development index, International Journal of Educational Development 44 (Sep 2015): 11–20.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2015.07.003Claudine Michel De mundos vistos y no vistos: el carácter educativo del vudú haitiano, Actualidades Pedagógicas , no.6464 (Jul 2014): 165.https://doi.org/10.19052/ap.3204Mpoki J. D. Mwaikokesya, Michael Osborne, Muir Houston Mapping Lifelong Learning Attributes in the Context of Higher Education Institutions, Journal of Adult and Continuing Education 20, no.22 (Nov 2014): 21–36.https://doi.org/10.7227/JACE.20.2.3Elizabeth Sumida Huaman, Laura Alicia Valdiviezo Indigenous knowledge and education from the Quechua community to school: beyond the formal/non-formal dichotomy, International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 27, no.11 (Nov 2012): 65–87.https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2012.737041Umma Habiba, Md. Anwarul Abedin, Rajib Shaw Disaster Education in Bangladesh: Opportunities and Challenges, (Apr 2013): 307–330.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54252-0_14Joseph P. Farrell And the Boys Took It Up for Themselves: Scouting, Learning, and Dialogue across Cultures, (Jan 2012): 49–67.https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137045591_4Rajib Shaw, Yukiko Takeuchi, Qi Ru Gwee, Koichi Shiwaku Chapter 1 Disaster Education: An Introduction, (Mar 2015): 1–22.https://doi.org/10.1108/S2040-7262(2011)0000007007Shlomo Romi, Mirjam Schmida Non‐formal education: a major educational force in the postmodern era, Cambridge Journal of Education 39, no.22 (May 2009): 257–273.https://doi.org/10.1080/03057640902904472Jane Randall Crockett Training and development for informal science learning, Public Understanding of Science 6, no.11 (Dec 2016): 87–101.https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-6625/6/1/006D.J. Radcliffe, N.J. Colletta Nonformal Education, (Jan 1989): 60–64.https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-030851-7.50022-9Päivi Elovainio Developmental Policy and Education, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 32, no.11 (Mar 1988): 23–31.https://doi.org/10.1080/0031383880320103Thomas J. La Belle Formal, nonformal and informal education: A holistic perspective on lifelong learning, International Review of Education 28, no.22 (Jun 1982): 159–175.https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00598444