ERIC Number: EJ1096212
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0263-5143
EISSN: N/A
Photovoice as an Evaluation Tool for Student Learning on a Field Trip
Behrendt, Marc; Machtmes, Krisanna
Research in Science & Technological Education, v34 n2 p187-203 2016
Background: Photovoice is one method that enables an educator to view an experience from a student's perspective. This study examined how teachers might use photovoice during an informal learning experience to understand the students' experiences and experiential gain. Design and methods: Participants in this study consisted of six students, three male and three female, ranging from ninth through twelfth grade at a rural Ohio high school, who attended a field trip to a biological field station for a four-day immersive science experience. Students were provided cameras to photograph what they believed was important, interesting, or significant during an immersive four-day science trip to a biological field station, individualizing their observations in ways meaningful to them, and enabling them to assimilate or accommodate the experiences to their schema. Results: Analysis identified five positive benefits to use photovoice as an evaluation tool: teachers were provided qualitative evidence to evaluate student interaction on the field trip; teachers could evaluate the students' photographs and captions to determine if the field trip met the learning objectives; students were empowered to approach the goals and objectives of the field trip by making the field trip personally relevant; students assimilated and accommodated the new observations and experiences to their own schema; students automatically reflected upon the learning experience as they captioned the photos. Conclusions: Through photovoice, the teachers were enabled to qualitatively assess each student's experience and learning from the field trip by illustrating what the students experienced and thought was significant; providing the teachers a method to evaluate all participating students, including those who are secretive or do not normally contribute to class discussions.
Descriptors: Photography, Social Action, Teaching Methods, Informal Education, Learning Experience, Experiential Learning, Rural Schools, High School Students, Field Trips, Science Education, Biology, Immersion Programs, Educational Benefits, Outcomes of Education, Student Educational Objectives, Relevance (Education), Student Evaluation, Science Teaching Centers, Coding, Reflection, Schemata (Cognition), Science Activities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education; High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ohio
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A