Narratives Expressing Emotion Support STEM Learning in Library and Children's Museum Programs

• In Event: 63.064 - Measuring the Impact of Emotions in Informal Learning Environments

Abstract

Objectives. Our project focuses on when and how personal narratives told by community experts can facilitate children's STEM learning in library and museum programs. This presentation centers on the ways that experts' personal stories conveying motivations, emotions, and significance of engineering experiences may synergistically relate to families' hands-on engagement and conversation during the programs, and children's reporting of STEM-related information afterward.

Perspective. Our theoretical focus is on the role narratives can play in adding layers of meaning above and beyond what is available from direct experiences with objects (Bruner, 1990). Drawing on story schema theory (Mandler, 1978) and linguistic approaches to the analysis of narrative form (Labov, 1982), personal narratives that can support learning and remembering must include evaluations of actions, and emotions, to convey what is meaningful and memorable about the story being told.

Methods. 5 engineering experts conducted 3-6 sessions each. Over 61 families with 6 to 10 year old children (M age = 7.72) participate in the research. At the end of each session, we invited children to respond to a series of questions about what they did and learned from the program.

Results. The experts' narratives were divided into 10-second segments, and coded by two raters for content, including: (1) Personal Narrative Talk – past engineering experience talk including evaluations of actions, emotions, and motivations; (2) Connections – explicitly pointing out the connection between the experts' personal narrative and the activity; (3) Engineering Talk – talk that referred to engineering practices; and (4) Facilitation – providing instructions and support to families. The children's reports immediately after the session were coded for STEM content, including engineering practices, and spatial and mathematics talk. A linear regression analysis predicting the STEM content of the children's reports yielded R2 = .25, F(7, 54) = 3.80, p = .01. Accounting for child age, the experts' personal narrative talk uniquely predicted the STEM content in the children's reports after the program.

Significance. This work is demonstrating important linkages between what experts do and say during programs and what children are able to report about their experiences. We will discuss in particular how personal narratives that include emotional expression can support family engagement and children's STEM learning in informal settings.

Authors

• Graciela Solis, Loyola University Chicago

• Catherine A Haden, Loyola University Chicago