Connecting Classical Scaffolding to Visitor Practices: How Families Support Learning in Museum-Based Science Activities

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: New Directions in Informal Learning Environments Research: Families, Communities, and Careers

Abstract

Families visiting museums may support their learning by providing scaffolding. However, we have yet to investigate how scaffolding is provided in museums, compared to classrooms. In response, I investigated how 23 families enacted scaffolding strategies as they participated in pop-up activities in two science museums. Sociocultural discourse analysis revealed that the most frequently used strategies in these activities were reducing degrees of freedom; marking critical features; and revoicing. Motivation-based scaffolding seemed less necessary in these activities. Additionally, both parents and children provided scaffolding, with children adopting dual roles as scaffolders and learners. While limited by my presence as facilitator and a priori scaffolding strategies, this study indicates a role for the scaffolding metaphor in characterizing families’ interactions in museums.

Authors

• Catherine Louise Dornfeld Tissenbaum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Sadhana Puntambekar, University of Wisconsin