Theoretical perspectives on learning in an informal setting

Abstract

Research into learning in informal settings such as museums has been in a formative state during the past decade, and much of that research has been descriptive and lacking a theory base. In this article, it is proposed that the human constructivist view of learning can guide research and assist the interpretation of research data because it recognizes an individual's prior knowledge and active involvement in knowledge construction during a museum visit. This proposal is supported by reference to the findings of a previously reported interpretive case study, which included concept mapping and semistructured interviews, of the knowledge transformations of three Year 7 students who had participated in a class visit to a science museum and associated postvisit activities. The findings from that study are shown in this report to be consistent with the human constructivist view of learning in that for all three students, learning was found to be at times incremental and at other times to involve substantial restructuring of knowledge. Thus, we regard that the human constructivist view of learning has much merit and utility for researchers investigating the development of knowledge and understanding emergent from experiences in informal settings. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for teachers and staff of museums and similar institutions are also discussed. ß

Family sense‐making practices in science center conversations

“…Our analysis of family members' biological talk in a science center builds on situated and distributed views of learning (Hutchins, 1995;Pea, 1993;Rogoff, 2003) and social views on learning (Meltzoff, Kuhl, Movellan, & Sejnowski, 2009;Vygotsky, 1978), as well as research that specifically applies sociocultural theories to family learning in science museums and other everyday situations (Allen, 2002;Anderson, Lucas, & Ginns, 2003;Ash, 2002;Bricker & Bell, 2008;Brown & Campione, 1994;Crowley & Jacobs, 2002;Ellenbogen, 2002;Falk & Dierking, 2000;Schauble & Bartlett, 1997). We take a sense-making approach to understand learning processes, meaning that we study talk, gesture, and related interactions to understand how someone comes to attribute meaning to a novel phenomenon that they see, hear, or otherwise experience.…”

Psicología educativa, más allá del contexto escolar

“…Desde ellos se logra comprobar que en la experiencia con espacios no formales como los museos, los aprendices estructuran mejor sus conocimientos previos y emergen nuevas interpretaciones (Anderson et al, 2003). En espacios informales mediados por el uso de nuevas tecnologías, algunas habilidades metacognitivas, como el auto control sobre aquello que los aprendices que desean aprender, se ven altamente favorecidas (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2011;Falk & Dierking, 2000;Jones, Scanlon, & Clough, 2013).…”

Contributing to Sustainability Education of East Asian University Students through a Field Trip Experience: A Social-Ecological Perspective

“…The participants' group presentations, individual reports and comments were reviewed for a qualitative analysis according to the constructivist perspectives of learning [9,[38][39][40]. At the end of the field trip, the participant groups, which consisted of two participants from each of the four universities, gave 5-minute oral presentations about the experience and findings from the field trip (N = 10).…”

“…This framework mainly inherits constructivist perspectives [9,38,39] focusing on the constructive processes of learning between learners and contexts, including participation in, adaptation to, interpretation of and transformation of knowledge. These perspectives are appropriate for interpreting the learning processes in informal and non-formal types of education, such as field trips [40].…”