Adventures in the subatomic universe: An exploratory study of a scientist–museum physics education project

Abstract

Quarked!™ is a collaborative education project between physicists, museum educators and designers that was developed to introduce youth to concepts of scale and the particulate nature of matter through hands-on museum programs and a website with animated videos, games and lesson plans. A pilot study was carried out to assess the project’s success in presenting these concepts in a fun and engaging way for an elementary and middle school aged audience, to investigate its relevance to teachers, and to explore children’s awareness of things that they cannot directly see. We found that children as young as second grade are aware of microscopic entities that can be studied indirectly. Our study also suggests that concepts of scale and matter can be presented in a way that is engaging and accessible to youth, and that teachers consider relevant to existing curricula.

Triggering STEM interest with Minecraft in a hybrid summer camp.

“…Very little of this work has focused on whether, how, and to what extent digital environments can be used to influence interest in STEM. Some positive links have been found between situational interest and computer simulation use (Clapper, 2014), with pervasive technologies in promoting curiosity and interest (Arnone et al, 2011), and the use of technology to reveal interesting hidden phenomena (MacDonald & Bean, 2011); however, no research that we are aware of has investigated the relationship between learner behaviors in a digital or virtual environment and interest development. Identifying patterns of interaction and contextual factors in such environments, therefore, has the potential to expand our understanding of interest development in important ways.…”

Απόψεις Για Τη Διδακτική Της Επιστήμης Και Της Τεχνολογίας

“…µετωπική διάλεξη, πολύπλοκα µαθηµατικά, κλπ. Νοµίζω πως η σύµφωνα µε τα ανωτέρω εκπαίδευση Ε&Τ σε παιδιά, είναι εφικτή, (MacDonald & Bean, 2011;Tsigris & Michaelides, 2006), µπορεί να αποβεί πολλαπλά ωφέλιµη στην κατανόηση του Φυσικού περιβάλλοντος και της Τεχνολογίας και στον περιορισµό των δεισιδαιµονιών και θεωριών συνοµωσίας (πχ 666), πρόσφορη καταφυγή αντιµετώπισης του αγνώστου και του φόβου που συνήθως προκαλεί.…”