The effectiveness of using previsit instructional materials on learning for a museum field trip experience

Abstract

IntroductionThe Science Museum of Minnesota, located in St. Paul, recently opened a new theatre called the Omnitheatre. The Omnitheatre provides a movie-in-the-round experience which may prove to be an excellent science educational tool. Its first movie-experience, which has been attended by hundreds of school groups, is entitled "Genesis." The film depicts ideas associated with the "Big Bang" theory of the universe and the theory of plate tectonics. The spoken narrative which accompanies the visual presentation treats these concepts using vocabulary and ideas which are new to many of the school children attending the movie.What is learned by the school children attending the "Genesis" experience? To what extent can this be a more effective learning experience if the attention of students is focused on the concepts of plate tectonics and "Big Bang" theory before the field trip to the Omnitheatre? Does preliminary instruction help one ability group of students (lower, middle, upper) more than another? These are questions this study attempted to address.

Research on students and museums: Looking more closely at the students in school groups

“…Feher & Rice, 1985); specific classroom preparation for cognitive learning at the venue (e.g. Gennaro, 1981;Wolins, Jensen, & Ulzheimer, 1992;Stoneberg, 1981); and orientation to the setting to be visited (e.g. Falk & Balling, 1982;Falk & Dierking, 1992).…”

Preferencias y necesidades del profesorado o acompañante de grupo que visita un Museo Interactivo de Ciencias

“…A mayor especialización en la formación académica las actividades previas tratan contenidos más concretos del currículo. Generalmente suele haber una escasa preparación previa de la visita, mientras la mayoría de las investigaciones resaltan los efectos positivos de una buena preparación de la visita en el aprendizaje y actitud de los estudiantes (Gennaro, 1981;Falk y Dierking, 1992). Aunque el museo dispone un día a la semana para que el profesor-acompañante pueda contextualizarla y poder realizar actividades previsita, un 93,6 % del total no la realiza.…”

Bilimsel Alan Gezisi Tutum Ölçeği Adaptasyon Çalışması

“…Geleneksel öğretim dışında öğrencilere gezi boyunca çeşitli aktiviteler ve birinci elden deneyimler sağlaması açısından alan gezisi çok önemli bir öğretim yöntemidir (Flexer ve Borun, 1984). Okul dışı alan gezilerinin yapılandırılmış bir deneyim oluşturma, öğrenmeyi desteklemesi açısından çok önemli bir araç olduğu araştırmacılar tarafından önemle vurgulanmıştır (Flexer ve Borun, 1984;Gennaro, 1981;McKenzie, 1986;Beirs ve McRobbie, 1981, Orion ve Hofstein, 1992Sebasto ve Cavern, 2006;Farmer, Knapp ve Benton;Hutzel ve Goodman, 2004). Alan gezisi öğrenilen kavramların genişletilmesinde ve öğrenmeye ilişkin motivasyonun sağlanmasında öğretici bir araçtır.…”