The Use of Fictional Stories in Science Exhibits: The Emperor Who Only Believed His Own Eyes

Murmann, Mai; Avraamidou, Lucy

doi:10.1111/cura.12165

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…Stories also can be especially potent for making scientific ideas and inquiry practices meaningful and accessible (Graesser et al, 1980;Avraamidou and Osborne, 2009;Frykman, 2009;Klassen, 2010). By helping children connect with and see the importance of science problems, and how general and abstract science concepts can be applied to situations that are relevant to them, stories can motivate interest in and learning of science (Cordova and Lepper, 1996;Willingham, 2009;Murmann and Avraamidou, 2016) Moreover, stories can provide a springboard for elaborative discussions of science topics, involving cognitively challenging utterances about science and ideas, and scaffolding engagement in practices of science by caregivers and children (Haden, 2010;Solis and Callanan, 2018;Plummer and Cho, 2020;Shirefley et al, 2020). Embedding science information in stories can make representations of science-related knowledge and experiences stronger, more concrete, and meaningful (Haden et al, 2016;Marcus et al, 2023, in review).…”

Section: Stories For Science Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are also an increasing number of researchers and educators seeking to understand the ways that stories in books, oral narratives, or picture-based narrative formats can advance informal STEM learning opportunities for children at home, and in libraries and museums (Pattison et al, 2020). In several studies, combining book reading or oral narratives with hands-on STEM activities in informal settings supported children's increased interest and knowledge of STEM (e.g., Luke et al, 2010;Evans et al, 2016;Murmann and Avraamidou, 2016;Pattison et al, 2017Pattison et al, , 2018Tzou et al, 2019;Plummer and Cho, 2020;Letourneau et al, 2022). As another example, in Callanan et al (2021), some families engaged with a hands-on story-based museum exhibit that conveyed a non-verbal narrative about the life and death of a mammoth.…”

Section: Science Stories and Hands-on Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Science in stories: Implications for Latine children’s science learning through home-based language practices

2023

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There is growing interest in stories as potentially powerful tools for science learning. In this mini-review article, we discuss theory and evidence indicating that, especially for young children, listening to and sharing stories with adult caregivers at home can make scientific ideas and inquiry practices meaningful and accessible. We review recent research offering evidence that stories presented in books can advance children’s science learning. Nonetheless, most of this work focuses on middle-class European-American U. S. children and involves narrative story books. Given the national imperative to increase Latine1 representation in STEM education and career pursuits in the U. S., we argue that it is vital that we broaden the definition of stories to include oral narrative storytelling and other conversational routines that Latine families engage in at home. Cultural communities with firmly rooted oral traditions, such as those from Latin American heritage, rely frequently on oral storytelling rather than book reading to convey world and community knowledge to young children. Therefore, we advocate for a strengths-based approach that considers Latine families’ everyday practices around science and storytelling on their own terms instead of contrasting them with European-American middle-class practices. We offer support for the view that for young children in Latine communities, culturally relevant oral practices, including personal narrative storytelling, can engender significant opportunities for family science learning at home.

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Section: Stories For Science Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Science Stories and Hands-on Learningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Science in stories: Implications for Latine children’s science learning through home-based language practices

2023

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“…Our focus on stories and tinkering at home is further encouraged by work in informal educational settings (e.g., Luke et al, 2010 ; Murmann and Avraamidou, 2016 ; Pattison et al, 2022 ). Plummer and Cho (2020) designed story-driven science programs for preschoolers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promoting children’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning at home through tinkering and storytelling

et al. 2023

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This study examined whether connecting storytelling and tinkering can advance early STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning opportunities for children. A total of 62 families with 4- to 10-year-old (M = 8.03) children were observed via Zoom. They watched a video invitation to tinker at home prepared by museum educators prior to tinkering. Then, half of the families were prompted to think up a story before tinkering (story-based tinkering group), whereas the other half were simply asked to begin tinkering (no-story group). Once they had finished tinkering, researchers elicited children’s reflections about their tinkering experience. A subset of the families (n = 45) also reminisced about their tinkering experience several weeks later. The story instructions provided before tinkering engendered children’s storytelling during tinkering and when reflecting on the experience. Children in the story-based tinkering group also talked the most about STEM both during tinkering, and subsequently when reminiscing with their parents about their tinkering experience.

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Learning About Archaeology and Prehistoric Life

et al. 2019

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This article is about an intervention introducing prehistoric life in primary education. Its objectives were to foster openness and interest for prehistory and archaeology, as well as content knowledge and conceptual learning with a focus on four main facets: basic knowledge about prehistoric life; conceptual learning/change regarding prehistory; learning about archaeologists and archaeology as a scientific discipline; and learning about interactions of archaeology and other disciplines (interdisciplinarity). Students participated in two workshops about the creation of a prehistoric object, highlighting the close interaction between the natural sciences and humanities within archaeology. The workshop emphasised dialogue between students, teachers and researchers, as well as active participation by the students. The educational effects of the workshops were studied using a pre-post design (N = 439, ages 8-10 years). Results show that the workshops had sizeable positive effects on both affective and cognitive variables. The appreciation of the workshops ranged from ≈ 70 to 90% (of maximum value) for interest, perceived educational value and further aspects. We also found a positive impact of the intervention on cognitive variables, e.g. for several elements of key knowledge about prehistory (such as where prehistoric people lived and with what resources; medium to large effect sizes: d > 0.9 and d = 0.46, respectively). Regarding conceptual learning, we found improved understanding of the link between climate change and long-term changes in wildlife in a given area (medium to large effect sizes, d = 0.5-0.8). A positive impact was also found for the understanding of archaeology encompassing both humanities and the natural sciences (e.g. understanding of climate change as inferred from archaeological knowledge, d = 0.3-0.5). No differences of the various outcomes were found between girls and boys; the workshops appear suitable for both genders. We conclude with a discussion of the interpretation of our findings, of some limitations and possible improvements, and of future perspectives, in particular for further classroom implementation.

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The Use of Fictional Stories in Science Exhibits: The Emperor Who Only Believed His Own Eyes

Cited by 4 publications

References 11 publications

Science in stories: Implications for Latine children’s science learning through home-based language practices

Science in stories: Implications for Latine children’s science learning through home-based language practices

Promoting children’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics learning at home through tinkering and storytelling

Learning About Archaeology and Prehistoric Life

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