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Deborah Corrigan · Cathy Buntting Alister Jones · John Loughran Editors Navigating the Changing Landscape of Formal and Informal Science Learning Opportunities Navigating the Changing Landscape of Formal and Informal Science Learning Opportunities Deborah Corrigan • Cathy Buntting Alister Jones • John Loughran Editors Navigating the Changing Landscape of Formal and Informal Science Learning Opportunities Editors Deborah Corrigan Cathy Buntting Faculty of Education University of Waikato Monash University Hamilton, New Zealand Clayton, VIC, Australia Alister Jones John Loughran University of Waikato Monash University Hamilton, New Zealand Clayton, VIC, Australia ISBN 978-3-319-89760-8 ISBN 978-3-319-89761-5 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89761-5 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018944341 © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface This is the fifth book in a series initiated by the Monash University – Kings’ College London International Centre for Study of Science and Mathematics Curriculum and in partnership with Waikato University. The Monash-Kings’ College Centre was established in 2002 with initial support from the Monash University Research Fund (new areas). The Centre for Science and Technology Education Research at Waikato University and the Centre for Science, Mathematics and Technology Education at Monash University have had a formal partnership agreement since 2003 and have worked cooperatively in many areas. The first book in the series, The Re-Emergence of Values in Science Education (D. Corrigan, J. Dillon & R. Gunstone [Eds.], Rotterdam: Sense Publishers, 2007), considered the state of science education in the twenty-first century through the lens of values. The book presented a ‘big picture’ of what science education might be like if values once again became central in science education. A decade ago (when this first book was conceptualised) the overwhelming experiences of those who were teaching science were in an environment which had seen the de-emphasising of values fundamentally inherent in both science and science education. There was a disparity between the evolutionary process that science was – and still is – under- taking and that undertaken by science education (and school science education in particular). In the second book, The Professional Knowledge Base of Science Teachers (D. Corrigan, J. Dillon & R. Gunstone [Eds.], Dordrecht, Springer, 2011), our focus was on exploring what expert science education knowledge and practices may look like in the then slowly emerging ‘bigger picture’ of the re-emergence of values, a focus we saw as a logical step on from the focus on values in the first book. We noted in the Foreword to this first book that the focus of the book was on ‘exploring what expert science education knowledge and practices may look like in the emerg- ing “bigger picture” of the re-emergence of values’. In the third book, Valuing Assessment in Science education: Pedagogy, Curriculum, Policy (D. Corrigan, R. Gunstone & A. Jones [Eds.], Dordrecht, Springer, 2013), we took what we saw as the clear logical next step in this sequence of foci begun with our exploration of The Re- Emergence of Values in Science v vi Preface Education; the reality of education is that it is assessment that is almost always the strongest force shaping implemented curriculum, teacher development and behav- iour, student approaches to learning, etc. This book considered the ‘big picture’ of assessment in science education, from the strategic/policy to individual classroom levels. While some classroom case studies were presented, they focused more on teachers than students, and so considered assessment more in terms of what teachers plan and do than in terms of the impacts on students. This fourth book, The Future of Learning Science: What’s in It for the Learner? (D.Corrigan, C.Buntting, J.Dillon, A.Jones & R.Gunstone [Eds.], Dordrcht, Springer, 2015), considers learning – the forms of science that better represent the nature of science in the twenty-first century, the purposes we might adopt for the learning of school science, the forms this learning might better take, and how this learning happens (with particular concern for the need to better engage students with their school science and the need to place the burgeoning range of digital tech- nologies into a more informed context than the narrow and uncritical contexts in which these are too commonly considered). An important overarching theme we seek is to represent and value the perspective of the learner. The fifth book moves on again from Re-emergence of Values/Professional Knowledge Base/Assessment /Learners to consider learning science as a fundamen- tal issue in research in science education, in curriculum development and imple- mentation in science education as well as in science teaching and learning. This book takes a broad and deep view of research involving learning opportunities that are afforded to learners of science when the focus is on linking the formal and infor- mal science education sectors. We use the metaphor of a “landscape” as it empha- sises how we see the possible movement within a landscape that is inclusive of formal, informal and free-choice opportunities (rather than the not uncommon for- mal sector assumption that the informal sector should somehow serve the formal and free choice is not part of education at all). This book explores opportunities for seeking to change formal school science education via the perspectives and achieve- ments of the informal and free-choice science education sector as part of the educa- tion landscape. We used the same approach to the creation of this fifth book as we did with the previous four. In a desire to achieve in this edited collection both the creation of a cohesive contribution to the literature and having authors able to assert their own voices without restrictive briefs from us as editors, we again organised a workshop involving the authors and ourselves to enable a more interactive and formative writ- ing process. Authors completed a first draft of their chapters in time to distribute them to all workshop participants before we met. The workshop then involved intensive discussions of individual chapters and feedback to authors, and consider- ations of the overall structure and cohesion of the volume. Authors then rewrote their chapters in the light of these forms of feedback. As with the previous books, the workshop was scheduled around the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) conference and took place at the Monash University Centre in Prato (Italy). Preface vii This procedure had previously been used very successfully in the production of two other books in which the editors had variously been involved [P. Fensham, R. Gunstone & R. White (Eds.) (1994). The content of science: A constructivist approach to its teaching and learning. London: Falmer Press; R. Millar, J. Leach & J. Osborne (Eds.) (2000) Improving science education: The contributions of research. Milton Keynes: Open University Press], and has been more recently adopted by other science education researchers. We believe that this process signifi- cantly improves the quality of the final product and provides an opportunity for what is sadly a very rare form of professional development – considered and forma- tive and highly collaborative (and totally open) discussions of one’s work by one’s peers. We gratefully acknowledge the funding of the workshop through contributions from Monash University and Waikato University, and the commitment, openness and sharing of the participants in the workshop – all authors and editors – that shaped the book. Clayton, VIC, Australia Deborah Corrigan Hamilton, New Zealand Cathy Buntting Hamilton, New Zealand Alister Jones Clayton, VIC, Australia John Loughran July 2017 Contents Navigating the Changing Landscape of Formal and Informal Science Learning Opportunities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Deborah Corrigan, Cathy Buntting, Alister Jones, and John Loughran Viewing Science Learning Through an Ecosystem Lens: A Story in Two Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 John H. Falk and Lynn D. Dierking Pregnant Pauses: Science Museums, Schools and a Controversial Exhibition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Erminia Pedretti and Ana Maria Navas-Iannini Encounters with a Narwhal: Revitalising Science Education’s Capacity to Affect and Be Affected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Steve Alsop and Justin Dillon Communicating Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Susan M. Stocklmayer Reinvigorating Primary School Science Through School-Community Partnerships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Kathy Smith, Angela Fitzgerald, Suzanne Deefholts, Sue Jackson, Nicole Sadler, Alan Smith, and Simon Lindsay Natural Disasters as Unique Socioscientific Events: Curricular Responses to the New Zealand Earthquakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 Léonie Rennie, John Wallace, and Grady Venville The Challenges and Opportunities for Embracing Complex Socio-scientific Issues As Important in Learning Science: The Murray-Darling River Basin As an Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Peter J. Fensham and Jasper Montana ix x Contents Outreach Education: Enhancing the Possibilities for Every Student to Learn Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Debra Panizzon, Greg Lancaster, and Deborah Corrigan Using a Digital Platform to Mediate Intentional and Incidental Science Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171 Cathy Buntting, Alister Jones, and Bronwen Cowie “Meet the Scientist”: How Pre-service Teachers Constructed Knowledge and Identities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Gillian Kidman and Karen Marangio Trial-and-Error, Googling and Talk: Engineering Students Taking Initiative Out of Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Elaine Khoo and Bronwen Cowie Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 About the Authors Steve Alsop is a Professor in the Faculty of Education, York University, Canada. He teaches and supervises undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of educa- tion, science and technology studies, environmental sustainability and interdisci- plinary studies. His research explores the personal, social, political and pedagogical articulations of scientific knowledge and technologies in educational settings and contexts. Such settings include the public sphere, cultural institutions (museums and science centres), new social movements, schools and universities. His teaching, research and writing are informed by a commitment and belief in the importance and hopes of knowledge and education building a more wondrous, humane, diverse, equitable and just world. Cathy Buntting is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She has a Masters degree in biochemistry and a PhD in science education, and is Director of the Science Learning Hub, a significant online portal linking the science and education sectors. Recent research projects have included the develop- ment of students’ futures thinking and the role of ICTs in transforming science learning and teaching. Deborah Corrigan is a Professor of Science Education and Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Education at Monash University. After working as a chemistry and biol- ogy teacher, she worked at Monash University in chemistry and science education, particularly in teacher preparation. Her research interests include industry and tech- nology links with science, curriculum design, science and STEM education policy and the values that underpin science education. However, her main research interest remains improving the quality of chemistry and science education so that it is rele- vant to students. Bronwen Cowie is Professor and Director of the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, the University of Waikato, New Zealand. Bronwen has extensive experience in classroom-based research using interviews, observations, and the collection of student work and video as a data generation tools. She is a xi
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