Parent-Child Conversations about Evolution in the Context of an Interactive Museum Display

Autor/inn/en	Shtulman, Andrew; Checa, Isabel
Titel	Parent-Child Conversations about Evolution in the Context of an Interactive Museum Display
Quelle	In: International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 5 (2012) 1, S.27-46 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1307-9298
Schlagwörter	Museums; Evolution; Science Education; Misconceptions; Parent Child Relationship; Interpersonal Communication; Animals; Concept Formation; Science Education History; Children; Preadolescents; Exhibits; Interaction; Elementary School Students; Preschool Children; California + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Museum; Museumswesen; Museen; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung; Missverständnis; Parents-child relationship; Parent-child-relation; Parent-child relationship; Eltern-Kind-Beziehung; Interpersonale Kommunikation; Animal; Tier; Tiere; Concept learning; Begriffsbildung; Child; Kind; Kinder; Pre-adolescence; Präadoleszenz; Interaktion; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Kalifornien
Abstract	The theory of evolution by natural selection has revolutionized the biological sciences yet remains confusing and controversial to the public at large. This study explored how a particular segment of the public--visitors to a natural history museum--reason about evolution in the context of an interactive cladogram, or evolutionary tree. The participants were 49 children aged four to twelve and one accompanying parent. Together, they completed five activities using a touch-screen display of the phylogenetic relations among the 19 orders of mammals. Across activities, participants revealed similar misconceptions to those revealed by college undergraduates in previous studies. However, the frequency of those misconceptions was attenuated by the level of parental engagement, particularly the frequency of turn-taking between parents and children. Overall, these findings suggest that evolutionary reasoning may be improved by the kinds of collaborative discussions fostered by interactive museum displays, so long as the affordances of those displays encourage multi-user interactions. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education. T&K Akademic Rosendalsvein 45, Oslo 1166, Norway. e-mail: iejee@iejee.com; Web site: http://www.iejee.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01