The Architecture of Intuition: Converging Views from Physics Education and Linguistics

This paper analyzes two converging views of the architecture of intuition. A. diSessa and L. Talmy, working independently in different fields (physics education and linguistics), have formulated strikingly similar theories of intuition. Both view people's intuitions about forces as simple pieces of knowledge organized heterarchically. However, Talmy's force dynamic patterns have more system-wide structure than diSessa's phenomenological primitives. Using these primitives, people generate common sense explanations for a wide variety of situations. Moreover, people may build upon these intuitions while studying formal disciplines such as physics. However, several primitives directly conflict with physics concepts and may account for resilient misconceptions. Finally, intuitions may also provide the basis for understanding social and psychological phenomena

Explanatory parent–child conversation predominates at an evolution exhibit

To investigate how parents support children's learning at an exhibit on evolution, the conversations of 12 families were recorded, transcribed, and coded (6,263 utterances). Children (mean age 9.6 years) and parents visited Explore Evolution, which conveyed current research about the evolution of seven organisms. Families were engaged with the exhibit, staying an average of 44 minutes. Parents' and children's explanatory, nonexplanatory, and evolutionary conversation was coded. Overall, substantive explanatory conversation occurred in 65% of parent utterances, whereas nonexplanatory conversation occurred in 21% of the utterances. We found substantial use of exhibit text by parents (12.9% of utterances) who read it aloud and reframed the text for their children. Parents also used evolutionary terms and evolutionary concepts (10.2%), showing that such an exhibit is a valuable way to introduce this difficult topic to elementary‐school–aged children. Parents' use of explanatory conversation positively related to their children's use of explanatory and evolutionary conversation, indicating that a dialogic interchange was occurring. Parents' attitudes toward the exhibit content, particularly the issue of human evolution, related to the museum experience. Overall, this analysis shows that parents and children are having nuanced discussions and illustrates the potential of informal experiences in supporting children's learning of a complex topic. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 95: 720–744, 2011Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/87180/1/20433_ftp.pd

Disorientating, fun or meaningful? Disadvantaged families' experiences of a science museum visit

It is widely agreed that there is a need to increase and widen science partici- pation. Informal science learning environments (ISLEs), such as science museums, may provide valuable spaces within which to engage visitors—yet the visitor profile of science museums remains narrow. This paper seeks to understand the experiences of socially disadvantaged families within such spaces. Using a Bourdieusian analytic lens, we analyse qualitative data from a small study conducted with ten parents and ten children from an urban school who visited a large science museum. Data includes pre- and post-interviews, audio recordings and visit fieldnotes. We characterised families’ experiences as falling into three discourses, as ‘disorientating’, ‘fun’ or ‘meaningful’ visits. Analysis identifies how the families’ experiences, and the likelihood of deriving science learning from the visit, were shaped through interactions of habitus and capital. Implications for improving equity and inclusion within ISLEs are discussed

Meeting the audience challenge in the 'Age of Participation'

This paper explores the nature of a 'participatory museum experience' targeted at twenty-first century core audiences. It highlights the holistic nature of the museum visit; emphasises the importance of matching lifestyle expectations; argues for the central role of social interaction; prioritises the process of learning over outcomes; and both defines participatory exhibits and provides a preliminary typology. It concludes with a brief discussion of the root and branch transformation of museum structures implied by a participatory, social interaction-based approach

Gaining Visitor Consent for Research: A Test of the Posted-Sign Method

ABSTRACT One method for studying visitors in museums is to audiotape their conversations while videotaping their behavior. Many researchers inform visitors of the recordings by posting signs in the areas under scrutiny. This study tests the assumptions underlying that method-that visitors notice, read, and understand such signs. Signs were posted at the entrance to an Exploratorium exhibit which was being audio-and videotaped. Researchers interviewed 213 adult visitors as they exited the exhibit. The interviews revealed that 75 percent of the visitors had read and understood the sign. Of the 52 visitors who had not, 8 reported that they felt bothered to some degree by the recordings being made. The implications of these results are discussed

Finding Significance: Testing methods for encouraging meaning-making in a science museum

Abstract Many museums incorporate hands-on exhibits to engage visitors in activity and multisensory experiences. However, many visitors use such exhibits without reflecting on the significance of their exhibit experience and how it fits with their previous knowledge or everyday lives. In this poster session, we will present preliminary results of a study that compares two "exhibit enhancements" designed to foster such reflection. Specifically, we have enhanced an exhibit element by attaching a video screen that presented either Narrative Stories about the exhibit or Reflective Inquiries for visitors to try. We compared these with a standard version of the exhibit without video. So far, we have conducted such comparisons on two different exhibit elements that are found in many science museums, Aeolian Landscape, and Touch the Spring. For each version of each exhibit we are assessing the quality of visitors' interaction with the exhibit, the connections they make between the experience and the rest of their lives, and the impact of the experience after a period of several months. To date, we have analyzed the quantitative questions from cued interviews with visitors immediately following their exhibit experience. Results from that subset of our data are mixed: at Aeolian Landscape the Reflective Inquiries seemed to enhance the exhibit more than the other versions in several ways, while no clear pattern has yet emerged at Touch the Spring. We hope to be able to report late-breaking analyses of some of the qualitative data at the poster session, to supplement our quantitative analysis. We also invite conference attendees to contribute suggestions for choosing a third exhibit element to study, and for creating more powerful exhibit-related narratives