No matter which theory of learning we address, one commonality is that the learning is always situated in a certain context. This week, Carraher, Carraher, and Schliemann (1985) ask us to consider this same idea, but in the context of a person’s perceived and taught procedures. They ask us to consider how a person’s natural problem solving can compare to the processes that we teach and learn in classrooms today. They say, “there are informal ways of doing mathematical calculations which have little to do with the procedures taught in school.” Of special note from their research was the fact that individuals who were capable of solving a problem in a natural situation failed to solve the same problem when taken out of context, possibly due to a difference in problem-solving techniques (Carraher et al. 1985). If the context that a problem is found in can be so vital to the learning that goes on, where does that leave us as educators when we try to introduce and teach topics that are “foreign” to the classroom and “authentic” in real life?
The conclusion that the researchers arrived at is that the mathematics that are taught in schools act as an amplifier of thought processes. With this idea in mind, we can move on to the ideas of various networked communities and see how they can benefit from the idea of having processes acting as amplification of natural thought processes.
The Exploratorium was one of the first places that I examined this week, trying to keep in mind what my students would theoretically be going into to the experience with and what kinds of skills/procedures they could be introduced to ahead of time to amplify their learning. The Exploratorium hails itself as a “21st Century Learning Learning Laboratory.” Before taking a group of students to experience the Exploratorium, first, a baseline of what they expect out of the experience would need to be established. Falk & Storksdieck (2010) conducted a survey of people who used their leisure time to visit museums and gauged what they gained from the experience. They concluded that it was beneficial to set intentions before going in, as “science centers and other informal science education settings are socio-cultural settings that the public perceives as affording a finite number of leisure-related outcomes.” To address the fact that museums afford a more informal type of learning, they suggest that visitors be “meaningfully segmented as a function of their identity-related needs.” Or, in other words, they should be given roles so that they can better absorb and enjoy the experience. Some key roles that students could be given would be those of facilitators, who lead the groups and help explain, and explorers, who are good at wonder and questioning. By assigning students to specific roles, learning outcomes are more apt to be met.
Furthermore, Hsi (2008) suggests augmenting visits with ICTs to better enhance the experience. Before attending the field trip, students could use the Exploratorium’s website to better understand what types of exhibits they would be seeing and to gain valuable background knowledge. Allowing students to engage with online, interactive field trips, RFID tagged data, social bookmarking, live webcams, online games, and the like, students will go into the experience with a wide variety of perspectives from various formats, all of which lend towards the assimilation of new knowledge. All of these can be compiled together in an offline format and through social learning and discussion to make a rich foundation on which to build the experiences.
With all the free and inexpensive resources that are available, it wouldn’t be unheard of for a school to simply indulge in all the online resources and skip the logistics of going to a physical museum. While I am not advocating for that, the affordances that are available online in the modern world go a long way to bring equality of opportunity through exposure to remote places that are not able to have all of the same experiences. Every new way of presenting and working with an idea gives a student a new way to perceive, learn, and amplify future ideas which then can also diffuse out to more and more people. As Hsi (2008) said, we have the “opportunity to work with schools to bridge the experiences of chidlren to provide a more coherent learning experience.”
Did you hear me in the back, or does this message need some amplification? 😉
-Jonathan-
Resources
Carraher, T. N., Carraher, D. W., & Schliemann, A. D. (1985). Mathematics in the streets and in schools. British journal of developmental psychology, 3(1), 21-29.
Falk, J. H., & Storksdieck, M. (2010). Science learning in a leisure setting. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(2), 194-212.
Hsi, S. (2008). Information technologies for informal learning in museums and out-of-school settings. In International handbook of information technology in primary and secondary education(pp. 891-899). Springer, Boston, MA.
Hi
I like the fact that you discussed what the benefits to set intentions before going into a museum. Now, are these the intentions of the participants or the museum staff?
I wonder if students as approach your classroom door — what intentions do they have? Is it to pay attention? Ask three questions? Read ahead of time? What are the intentions of your students — maybe you can ask them.
Christopher
Hi Jonathon,
Like you mentioned, while there are many free and virtually free resources out there, the opportunity to go and take an actual field trip should not be forgotten about. Virtual reality field trips are a great way to bring those quality experiences and equity to students that may not have had access. The experience of getting on a yellow school bus and sitting with friends while playing games and singing (I hope this was not just me:) should not be taken away from students. Everything that we do should be with meaning and intention.
Sabrina,
I completely agree! I think the best way would actually be a blending of the two. Using virtual field trips and physical ones in tandem would allow students to preview, experience, and re-experience the trip over and over. If repetition is the mother of learning, then re-experiencing is the father!
With that said, virtual field trips are a great resources as well for those who do not have the means to get on that yellow school bus and get to the places for whatever reason. With all things, there is a balance, and virtual field trips can be great way to start to reverse an inequity that exists for some students.
Hi Jonatha,
you write “With all the free and inexpensive resources that are available, it wouldn’t be unheard of for a school to simply indulge in all the online resources and skip the logistics of going to a physical museum”. I partly agree. But I also feel that the fact of leaving the school to go to another place to learn may foster learning motivation that is not available when staying in the classroom. Also, the aspect of social learning during a museum trip is an important part of learning that would be lost when staying in the school. I see that Sabrina made a comparable point, and your response that it should not replace, but complement, field trips seems reasonable.
Elske
I would like to take the counter point regarding skipping the logistics of going to a museum. I think a lot of us are looking at our school visits from a very privileged position. I suspect most of us attended schools were field trips were just a natural part of the school experience so the idea of replacing the ‘hands on’ sounds like a loss. However consider the large number of schools that are not within a bus ride reach of some of these enrichment experiences? Or are from districts that don’t have the budget or funds to be able to finance these trips. Think of the large percentage of school children in developing countries where both of these are the realities. I think of the opportunity that having online exposure provides these students, to see and experience (even virtually) something that they would not have otherwise.
For those students that are privileged in their opportunity to have both virtual and real life exposure, then the ability to have pre-trip and post-trip review opportunities just adds to the enrichment.
Cheers!
Hi all,
Jonathan – you’ve written a great post that has given us a lot to think about! I can completely see both sides of the argument; it’s great to get out on a real field trip but I acknowledge that this may not be possible students everywhere. Also, as you mentioned, when students are fortunate enough to be able to take field trips, VFT can add to the preparation for the trip or help when reflecting back on what was learned. After completing some similar readings myself this week, I’ve come to the conclusion that there really is not one right answer! I’d like to briefly bring up two points. First, I read about interactive virtual expeditions (IVE) this week. IVEs focus on real time science learning, where a class engages in scientific exploration in real time by connecting with a scientist through virtual communication. Could this help to enhance VFTs for students who are unable to take a field trip? Second, I don’t think all field trips need to be ‘all singing all dancing.’ Learning about ones local area, and hence not travelling far, can be exciting, interesting and important!
Thanks for your thought-provoking post!
Kathryn