ERIC Number: EJ896320
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jul
Pages: 33
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8326
EISSN: N/A
Facilitating Family Group Inquiry at Science Museum Exhibits
Gutwill, Joshua P.; Allen, Sue
Science Education, v94 n4 p710-742 Jul 2010
We describe a study of programs to deepen families' scientific inquiry practices in a science museum setting. The programs incorporated research-based learning principles from formal and informal educational environments. In a randomized experimental design, two versions of the programs, called "inquiry games," were compared to two control conditions. Inquiry behaviors were videotaped and compared at pretest and posttest exhibits. Family members were also interviewed about their perceptions and use of the inquiry games. Results indicated that visitors who learned the inquiry games improved their inquiry more than those who did not. Effect sizes ranged from 0.3[sigma] to 0.7[sigma], depending on the assessment measure. Visitors who learned the collaborative inquiry game showed even more improvement than those who learned the individualized game, spending more time investigating the posttest exhibit, making more frequent and more abstract interpretations of their experiments, building more collaborative explanations, and engaging in more coherent inquiry investigations than controls. Qualitative analysis suggested that the collaborative inquiry game was superior because it required all family members to participate, work together, and explicitly articulate their interpretations. Visitors in all conditions enjoyed their experience, varied in what they liked and disliked, and reported applying what they had learned at new exhibits. (Contains 8 figures, 5 tables, and 7 footnotes.)
Descriptors: Museums, Exhibits, Effect Size, Inquiry, Science Activities, Pretests Posttests, Interviews, Family Involvement, Cooperation, Science Experiments, Teaching Methods, Educational Games, Prior Learning, Scientific Concepts, Age Differences, Educational Attainment, Science Education, Science Interests, Gender Differences
John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Subscription Department, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. Tel: 800-825-7550; Tel: 201-748-6645; Fax: 201-748-6021; e-mail: subinfo@wiley.com; Web site: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/browse/?type=JOURNAL
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A