May 1st, 2010 | RESEARCH
In this paper, we examine the interactional ways that families make meaning from biological exhibits during a visit to an interactive science center. To understand the museum visits from the perspectives of the families, we use ethnographic and discourse analytic methods, including pre- and postvisit interviews, videotaped observations of the museum visits, and coding and analysis of utterances from naturally occurring conversations. We employ an Everyday Expertise framework to understand how families use ideas and materials to make meaning from the scientific content presented in exhibits. We argue that individual and cognitive aspects of learning are fundamentally connected to the social and cultural aspects of learning; therefore, we analyze the intertwining role of individual cognitive resources, situated activities, and cultural toolkit resources that support learning interactions and processes. Findings indicate how families use a variety of knowledge types (epistemic resources) to make sense of exhibit content, how they make sense of biological content by transferring cultural epistemic resources from prior experiences, and how families use two types of scientific epistemic resources—biological facts and perceptual descriptions—as the primary means to make sense of biological exhibits.
Document
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Team Members
Heather Toomey Zimmerman, Author, Pennsylvania State UniversitySuzanne Reeve, Author, University of Washington
Philip Bell, Author, University of Washington
Citation
Identifier Type: ISSN
Identifier: 0036-8326
Publication: Science Education
Volume: 94
Number: 3
Page(s): 478
Related URLs
Tags
Audience: Families | Museum | ISE Professionals
Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM | Life science
Resource Type: Peer-reviewed article | Research Products
Environment Type: Exhibitions | Games | Simulations | Interactives | Media and Technology | Museum and Science Center Exhibits