Informal Learning Environment: Students’ Experiences While Visiting a Mobile Exhibition Placed in Three Different Environments

• In Event: Inclusive, Informal Learning Designs That Promote Motivation, Learning, and Well-Being

Abstract

Mobile exhibitions increase accessibility and provide educational opportunities beyond the school’s curriculum. The effect a classroom, a public park and a history museum environments on tenth-grade students' learning outcomes, while visiting a mobile exhibition about a historical event, was examined.
Event-related knowledge gains, students' behaviors in terms of navigation and time duration at each station, as well as learning behaviors at the stations utilizing reading, watching and writing tasks were examined.
The data revealed that student's behavior was relatively similar in all three environments. Interestingly, the students applied formal behavioral norms in a familiar classroom environment, whereas the museum environment encouraged more informality and learning through exploration.

Authors

• Inbal Gildin, University of Haifa

• Billie Eilam, University of Haifa