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Cross-Contextual Learning: Redesigning the Interactions of Informal and Formal Contexts for Conceptual Change

dc.contributor.authorVoss, Amy
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-27T17:28:10Z
dc.date.available2011-05-27T17:28:10Z
dc.date.issued2011-03-01
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1803/4809
dc.descriptionTeaching and Learning Department capstone projecten_US
dc.description.abstractConceptual restructuring emerges from children’s experiences in multiple contexts. This paper explores the interactions of school-based science education and informal science education through the lens of conceptual change. The term cross-contextual learning is introduced to refer to (a) fieldtrips away from the school setting and (b) mobile programming that is implemented in the classroom by informal educators. This paper examines the literature concerning goals that educators from both contexts have for these learning experiences and the literature documenting the curricular practices that surround learners’ cross-contextual experiences. It describes experiences in local settings that evidence the barriers to cross-contextual learning, then elaborates educators’ perspectives concerning two programs that have been selected as exemplars for learning across formal and informal contexts: an environmental science laboratory program and an exhibit design challenge. The literature and experiences in local settings suggest the that opportunities for conceptual change surrounding cross-contextual events are greatly improved when: (1.)school-based and informal education practitioners plan learning experiences together; and (2.)learning from the informal setting is prefaced, reflected upon, and assessed in the context of the classroom. The final section of this paper synthesizes the implications for practice and research in the frames of learners’ opportunities for conceptual change, curricular practices that bridge learning across contexts, collaboration across school and informal contexts, and the assessment of cross-contextual learning. The role of technologies is an important area for inquiry about science learning that bridges formal and informal contexts.en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherVanderbilt University. Peabody Collegeen_US
dc.subjectInformal Learningen_US
dc.subjectFieldtripsen_US
dc.subjectLearning in multiple contextsen_US
dc.subjectScience Educationen_US
dc.subjectConceptual Changeen_US
dc.subject.lcshSchool field trips -- Study and teachingen_US
dc.subject.lcshFieldwork (Educational method) -- Study and teachingen_US
dc.subject.lcshScience -- Study and teachingen_US
dc.titleCross-Contextual Learning: Redesigning the Interactions of Informal and Formal Contexts for Conceptual Changeen_US
dc.typeCapstoneen_US
dc.description.collegePeabody College of Education and Human Developmenten_US
dc.description.schoolVanderbilt Universityen_US
dc.description.departmentDepartment of Teaching and Learningen_US


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