Family Practices Around Science at Community Science Events

• In Event: Supporting Family Talk and Practice Around Science for Young Children

Abstract

Children’s academic achievement improves when their families are involved in their education (Barnard, 2004; Castro, Bryant, Peisner-Feinberg, & Skinner, 2004; Henderson & Mapp, 2002). When considering early science learning, these interactions can lead to sophisticated thinking; engaging in conversations about science can help children develop theories of how the world works (Callanan & Oakes, 1992), and gathering and using evidence can help children learn to solve problems (Gleason & Schauble, 2002). These practices are among those outlined by A Framework for K-12 Science Education (National Research Council, 2012) in their analysis of the research on effective science education. Taken together, this indicates that involving families productively in the science education of young children should strengthen and complement current science education reform efforts; therefore, providing opportunities for Framework-aligned family involvement in the science education of young children is a major goal of this MSP.

Sci-FUN community events are one way that this MSP approaches family learning around science. In partnership with local informal science venues, such as a science center, zoo, botanical garden, and parks, the MSP invites families from participating schools to attend a free science community event. At the events, MSP-designed science inquiry activities are coupled with the informal science venue context to bring together community and families to support the science learning of young children. The activities at these events have been aligned with the Framework and designed to involve adult family members as “navigators” and the young children as “investigators.” This design works to scaffold adult learning of how to help children navigate open-ended science inquiry activities. Understanding how families behave in the context of these designed experiences is the focus of this study. Ultimately, the knowledge gained from this study will contribute both to literature on how to design family learning experiences and also how family learning contributes to children’s science education.

The work presented in this session centers around the research question: What does family practice around science look like among families who choose to participate in Sci-FUN events? Sub-questions include: What does discourse around science look like among families?; What inquiry behaviors are seen in families participating in Sci-FUN events?; and, How do family practices around science outside the Sci-FUN events relate to behavior at the events?

Adults from families attending the Sci-FUN events will be interviewed both at the event and in longer, follow-up conversations by phone. The behaviors of family members will also be observed during their participation in selected activities at the Sci-FUN events. An inductive thematic analysis will be carried out on the data from interviews, while the observational data will be analyzed deductively with pre-determined codes designed to assess the presence and type of discourse strategies and inquiry behaviors. These analyses should yield information useful to those seeking to strengthen family learning around science, both to formal and informal educators.

Authors

• Nicole Tuttle, University of Toledo

• Amanda Gilbert, Association of American Medical Colleges

• Susanna E. Hapgood, University of Toledo