Family connections to local science issues: how scientists use questions to engage families in personally-relevant learning during science-themed workshops

Abstract

This study investigates how scientist-led educational programs, held in libraries, can make local science issues relevant to families. Given the need for an educated citizenry, it is important to explore if scientistsas learning facilitatorscan use educational strategies to engage intergenerational groups. We view family learning from a sociocultural perspective where parent-child interactions and sensemaking practices are the focus of our analysis. We analyzed three water quality-themed workshops held at public libraries consisting of 25 hours of video data. With a focus on 17 participant family groups, we closely examined the influence of questions asked by three different scientists (each leading a workshop) to understand how the structure of these questions supported or did not support the families in sensemaking conversations. Our findings revealed a relationship between the types of questions the scientists asked and families' talk related to the program content. Specifically, three questioning patterns emerged that either supported or hindered family connecting conversations: (1) family-focused question prompts, (2) scientist-focused question prompts (anti-questions), and (3) closed-ended question prompts. Our analysis illustrates that personallyrelevant family learning about science in their community is supported by conversational opportunities for families to make connections between science and their shared experiences. ARTICLE HISTORY

Linking K-12 STEM Pedagogy to Local Contexts: A Scoping Review of Benefits and Limitations

“…A further issue of concern is the underrepresentation of women, ethnic minorities, and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds in STEM fields, limiting the pool from which highly skilled individuals can be drawn (Marginson et al, 2013). A lack of diverse representation in STEM fields is also problematic because it leads to a narrower range of perspectives that can contribute to solving problems and driving innovation (van den Hurk et al, 2019).…”

“…Examples of such strategies include increasing awareness of STEM careers, making STEM role models available to young people, challenging stereotypes, and building student self-efficacy in STEM (van Tuijl and van der Molen, 2016). At the school-level, pedagogical approaches that contextualize and personalize STEM learning, connect STEM learning with local communities, and integrate the teaching of content with thinking skills (such as critical and creative thinking, problem solving, and flexible thinking) are also positioned as strategies that can enhance student achievement and interest in STEM (Marginson et al, 2013). The idea of localized learning has roots in economic geography, where it has been noted that local conditions and spatial proximity between stakeholders positively influences the generation of skills, processes, and products (Malmberg and Maskell, 2006).…”

“…Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are viewed as vital contributors to economic growth and innovation (Freeman et al, 2019). STEM skills and competencies are key to increasing the quality of the STEM workforce and related research, and are also viewed as highly transferable skills that increase employability in non-STEM sectors (Marginson et al, 2013). STEM education also contributes to the development of scientific literacy, which allows individuals to think critically about science, understand what is and is not science, and use scientific understanding to make evidence-based decisions (Yacoubian, 2018).…”

Parental Instructional Strategies During Family Visit to An Agricultural Exhibition at A Science Museum

“…One mother commented on this issue to one of the researchers saying: The need for better mediational means in informal environments (not only science museums) is the outcome of many studies. McClain and Zimmerman (2019) suggested that a more structured learning environment can support opportunities for conversations between family members to promote connections between the scientific phenomena in the learning environment and the family past shared experiences. Furthermore, Harris and Winterbottom (2018) showed how family learning can be developed during a facilitated workshop to spark scientific talk between family members and encourage an inquiry-based approach.…”

“…There is vast body of knowledge examining parent-child interactions in museums (Andre et al, 2017;Callanan et al, 2020;Degotardi et al, 2019;Harris & Winterbottom, 2018;McClain & Zimmerman, 2019;Taggart et al, 2020;Vandermaas-Peeler et al, 2016) and due to the fact that parents are among the most influential factors in children's learning, there is always the need to add to this body of knowledge. Informal science environments and exhibit designers who wish to promote science learning for children must carefully consider the role of parents in this learning process.…”