Science identity trajectories throughout school visits to a science museum

Abstract

Research has repeatedly demonstrated how informal learning environments afford science‐identity development by fostering a broader array of interactions and recognizing more varied participation modes and roles, as compared to the classroom. Thus, science teachers are encouraged to take students to field trips in informal environments, including science museums. However, the question of whether and how informal environments indeed support science identities also in a schooling context (i.e., in field trips) has not yet been explored. This case study addresses this question by analyzing identity trajectories of three students throughout six school visits to an Israeli science museum. We observed and recorded these students in the museum over the course of 3 years (fourth to sixth grade). We also visited their school and interviewed them after each visit. Drawing on a sociocultural interactional approach to identity, we analyzed 18 hr of video and audio recordings, tracking the participation of the three students across time and contexts, comparing between the students, points in time and settings, including structured (museum lab), semi‐structured (riddle‐solving activities in exhibition halls), and unstructured settings (free exploration). We employed linguistic ethnographic methods and microanalysis to examine the ways in which the students participated and their positioning by self and others. While we found differences between settings within the museum, overall, the findings show that the museum reproduced the school's interaction, positioning, and roles. The “(non)science person” in school was also the “(non)science person” in the museum, and thus, the museum visits did not appear to shift identity trajectories. These findings challenge the premise that informal environments support the development of science identities also in a schooling context and call for a more critical view of such fieldtrips in terms of their pedagogical and physical design, facilitation approach, and consideration of peers' social interaction.

Embodied interactions in a science museum

“…In previous work (Shaby & Vedder-Weiss, 2020), we examined identity trajectories of three female students (pseudonyms: Peleg, Nofar, and Ori) visiting the science museum over the course of three years. We selected this group of students because each played a distinctly contrasting role (which following Carlone et al (2014), we termed: a "science person," a "good student," and a "nonscience person," see Shaby & Vedder-Weiss, 2020), making this an "information-rich case which manifests the phenomenon of interest intensely" (Patton, 2002, p. 234). The first author collected observational data of this group through video-recordings during the museum visits, using a hand-held video-recorder.…”

Interest and learning in informal science learning sites: Differences in experiences with different types of educators

“…Much of the prior work documenting variations in outcomes from ISLS visits attends to family visits with a focus on the role that parents play [16][17][18]. Another large body of research explores outcomes of school visits with attention to the nature of the education that occurs [15,16,19,[20][21][22]. The current investigation explores family visits, but is distinct from the prior work on family visits which explores the role of parents as educators.…”

Informella lärmiljöers effekter på elevers lärande och intresse för naturvetenskap: En översikt

“…Motsvarande siffra för studenter på humanistiska utbildningar var 64%. Shaby och Vedder-Weiss [50] nyanserar ovanstående bild i en longitudinell studie (3 år), där de inte kunde observera några förändringar gällande besök i informella lärandemiljöer och hur eleverna såg på sig själva i relation till naturvetenskap.…”