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ERIC Number: EJ1231075
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Nov
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8326
EISSN: N/A
Conversational Reflections about Tinkering Experiences in a Children's Museum
Pagano, Lauren C.; Haden, Catherine A.; Uttal, David H.; Cohen, Tsivia
Science Education, v103 n6 p1493-1512 Nov 2019
We examined the conversational reflections of 248 families with 6-11-year-old children shortly after they visited a tinkering exhibit. Our aim was to understand the conditions of tinkering and conversational reflection that can enhance STEM learning opportunities for young children. Some families visited the exhibit when there was a design challenge and others when there was not. Some families chose to leave the exhibit with their creations, and, therefore, had them with them during the conversational reflection, and others did not. Children who participated in the design challenge, and had their tinkering creation present during the reminiscing, answered a greater percentage of adults' elaborative open-ended questions. Children also elaborated more if they visited the exhibit when there was a design challenge compared with those who did not. Children and adults made more elaborative statements if they had their tinkering creation with them than if they did not. Families with their tinkering creations talked most about engineering and the value of tinkering, and those who participated in the design challenge talked the most about engineering practices, and least about tools. We discuss implications for the design of tinkering and reflection activities that can both reveal and advance STEM learning.
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Science Foundation (NSF); Institute of Museum and Library Services
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: 1515771; 1516541; 1515788; MA1013015713