Informal Science Learning: an investigation of how novelty and motivation affect interest development at a mobile laboratory

November 1st, 2016 | RESEARCH

MobiLLab is a mobile science education program designed to awaken young people’s interest in science and technology (S&T). Perceived novelty, or unfamiliarity, has been shown to affect pupils’ educational outcomes at similar out-of-school learning places (OSLePs) such as museums and science centers. A study involved 215 mobiLLab pupils who responded to three surveys: a pre-preparation, at-visit, and post-visit survey. Results provide evidence for four dimensions of pupils’ at-visit novelty: curiosity, exploratory behavior, oriented feeling, and cognitive load. Findings also show that classroom preparation time, pupils’ perceived capability with technology, and dispositional curiosity related most strongly to their S&T attitudes. The study offers specific insights into how educators can develop materials, activities, and learning settings that appeal to both genders and that support development of desired educational outcomes, such as interest and knowledge. As settings that foster learner autonomy, OSLePs are uniquely positioned to engage learners in S&T topics and careers.

Document

RebeccasDissertation.pdf

Team Members

Rebecca Cors, Author, University of Geneva

Citation

Identifier Type: DOI
Identifier: 10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:91515

Tags

Access and Inclusion: Women and Girls
Audience: Educators | Teachers | Evaluators | Learning Researchers | Middle School Children (11-13) | Museum | ISE Professionals | Youth | Teen (up to 17)
Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM | Technology
Resource Type: Coding Schema | Doctoral Dissertation | Observation Protocol | Research | Research and Evaluation Instruments | Research Products | Survey
Environment Type: Informal | Formal Connections | K-12 Programs | Laboratory Programs | Museum and Science Center Programs | Public Programs