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Peer-reviewed article

Family sense-making practices in science center conversations

May 1, 2010 | Media and Technology, Exhibitions

In this paper, we examine the interactional ways that families make meaning from biological exhibits during a visit to an interactive science center. To understand the museum visits from the perspectives of the families, we use ethnographic and discourse analytic methods, including pre- and postvisit interviews, videotaped observations of the museum visits, and coding and analysis of utterances from naturally occurring conversations. We employ an Everyday Expertise framework to understand how families use ideas and materials to make meaning from the scientific content presented in exhibits. We argue that individual and cognitive aspects of learning are fundamentally connected to the social and cultural aspects of learning; therefore, we analyze the intertwining role of individual cognitive resources, situated activities, and cultural toolkit resources that support learning interactions and processes. Findings indicate how families use a variety of knowledge types (epistemic resources) to make sense of exhibit content, how they make sense of biological content by transferring cultural epistemic resources from prior experiences, and how families use two types of scientific epistemic resources—biological facts and perceptual descriptions—as the primary means to make sense of biological exhibits.

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  • 2013 06 19 Heather Zimmerman pix Oct2008
    Author
    Pennsylvania State University
  • Suzanne Reeve
    Author
    University of Washington
  • Bell March2016 headshot
    Author
    University of Washington
  • Citation

    ISSN : 0036-8326
    Publication Name: Science Education
    Volume: 94
    Number: 3
    Page Number: 478
    Resource Type: Research Products
    Discipline: Education and learning science | General STEM | Life science
    Audience: Families | Museum/ISE Professionals
    Environment Type: Media and Technology | Games, Simulations, and Interactives | Exhibitions | Museum and Science Center Exhibits

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