Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp

Eleanor Kenimer

doi:10.29333/ijese/13045

Full Text (PDF)

Eleanor Kenimer ¹ ^*

More Detail

¹ Department of Teacher Education, College of Education, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Out of school learning happens in many different contexts. This paper aims to focus on the educators at a nature based summer camp and how they learn to teach and implement various teaching practices. Little research in the informal science education field focuses on the educators themselves, especially those without a background in education, and this interpretive case study explores how educators in a camp context think about and discuss teaching and learning and what successes and challenges they face when teaching. Similar to novice classroom teachers, the educators at this camp had to negotiate competing ideas about what good teaching and learning is and a multitude of challenges that prevented them from being able to teach in ways that they wanted to. However, they also had several successes in student-led teaching moments that showed a responsiveness to student interests and ideas that is impressive for inexperienced educators.

Keywords

informal science education
educator learning
outdoor education
nature based education
outdoor pedagogy

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED, Volume 19, Issue 2, 2023, Article No: e2307

https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Publication date: 01 Apr 2023

Online publication date: 07 Mar 2023

Article Views: 1149

Article Downloads: 725

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

ACA. (2017). 2017 staff recruitment report. American Camp Association. https://www.acacamps.org/sites/default/files/resource_library/2017_StaffRecruitmentReport.pdf
ACA. (2019). 2019 impact report. American Camp Association. https://www.acacamps.org/sites/default/files/page_documents/about/2019-ACA-Annual-Impact-Report.pdf
Ayar, M. C. (2015). First-hand experience with engineering design and career interest in engineering: An informal STEM education case study. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 15(6). https://doi.org/10.12738/estp.2015.6.0134
Ball, A. L., Knobloch, N. A., & Hoop, S. (2007). The instructional planning experiences of beginning teachers. Journal of Agricultural Education, 48(2), 56-65. https://doi.org/10.5032/jae.2007.02056
Braund, M., & Reiss, M. (2004). Learning science outside the classroom. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203474044
Dierking, L. D., & Falk, J. H. (1992). Redefining the museum experience: The interactive experience model. Visitor Studies, 4(1), 173-176.
Dyson, A. H., & Genishi, C. (2005). On the case. Teachers College Press.
Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2010). The 95 percent solution. American Scientist, 98(6), 486-493. https://doi.org/10.1511/2010.87.486
Falk, J. H., & Dierking, L. D. (2018). Learning from museums. Rowman & Littlefield.
Fleer, M., & Hedegaard, M. (2010). Early learning and development: Cultural-historical concepts in play. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511844836
Gray, P. L. (2020). Mitigating the apprenticeship of observation. Teaching Education, 31(4), 404-423. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2019.1631785
Ham, S. H., & Krumpe, E. E. (1996). Identifying audiences and messages for nonformal environmental education–A theoretical framework for interpreters. Journal of Interpretation Research, 1(1), 11-23. https://doi.org/10.1177/109258729600100103
Henry, C., & Carter, K. (2021). Communicating climate change content in small and mid-sized museums: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Museum Education, 46(3), 321-333. https://doi.org/10.1080/10598650.2021.1937791
Joyce, B. A., & Farenga, S. J. (1999). Informal science experience, attitudes, future interest in science, and gender of high‐ability students: An exploratory study. School Science and Mathematics, 99(8), 431-437. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1949-8594.1999.tb17505.x
Khanaposhtani, M. G., Liu, C. J., Gottesman, B. L., Shepardson, D., & Pijanowski, B. (2018). Evidence that an informal environmental summer camp can contribute to the construction of the conceptual understanding and situational interest of STEM in middle-school youth. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 8(3), 227-249. https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2018.1451665
Kong, X., Dabney, K. P., & Tai, R. H. (2014). The association between science summer camps and career interest in science and engineering. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 4(1), 54-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2012.760856
Koni, I., & Krull, E. (2018). Differences in novice and experienced teachers’ perceptions of planning activities in terms of primary instructional tasks. Teacher Development, 22(4), 464-480. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2018.1442876
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press. ttps://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511815355
Lavie Alon, N., & Tal, T. (2017). Field trips to natural environments: How outdoor educators use the physical environment. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 7(3), 237-252. https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2016.1250291
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. University of Chicago Press.
Lunsmann, C. J., Beck, J. S., Riddle, D. R., Scott, C. E., & Adkins, A. B. (2019). Extending the apprenticeship of observation: How mentee experiences shape mentors. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 27(3), 342-363. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2019.1631004
NRC. (2009). Learning science in informal environments: People, places, and pursuits. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/12190
Plummer, J. D., & Small, K. J. (2013). Informal science educators’ pedagogical choices and goals for learners: The case of planetarium professionals. Astronomy Education Review, 12(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3847/AER2013004
Powell, R. B., & Ham, S. H. (2008). Can ecotourism interpretation really lead to pro-conservation knowledge, attitudes and behaviour? Evidence from the Galapagos Islands. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16(4), 467-489. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669580802154223
Riedinger, K. (2015). Identity development of youth during participation at an informal science education camp. International Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 10(3), 453-475. https://doi.org/10.12973/ijese.2015.254a
Riedinger, K., & Taylor, A. (2016). “I could see myself as a scientist”: The potential of out-of-school time programs to influence girls’ identities in science. Afterschool Matters, 23, 1-7.
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. SAGE.
Stake, R. E., & Trumbull, D. J. (1982). Naturalistic generalizations. Review Journal of Philosophy and Social Science, 7(1), 1-12.
Thompson, J., Windschitl, M., & Braaten, M. (2013). Developing a theory of ambitious early-career teacher practice. American Educational Research Journal, 50(3), 574-615. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831213476334
Tran, L. U. (2006). Teaching science in museums: The pedagogy and goals of museum educators. Science Education, 91(2), 278-297. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20193
Tran, L. U., & King, H. (2007). The professionalization of museum educators: The case in science museums. Museum Management and Curatorship, 22(2), 131-149. ttps://doi.org/10.1080/09647770701470328
Williams, D. C., Ma, Y., Prejean, L., Ford, M. J., & Lai, G. (2007). Acquisition of physics content knowledge and scientific inquiry skills in a robotics summer camp. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 40(2), 201-216. https://doi.org/10.1080/15391523.2007.10782505

How to cite this article

APA

Kenimer, E. (2023). Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(2), e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Vancouver

Kenimer E. Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2023;19(2):e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

AMA

Kenimer E. Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. INTERDISCIP J ENV SCI ED. 2023;19(2), e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Chicago

Kenimer, Eleanor. "Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education 2023 19 no. 2 (2023): e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

Harvard

Kenimer, E. (2023). Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, 19(2), e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045

MLA

Kenimer, Eleanor "Discourses and pedagogies of informal science educators at a nature-based summer camp". Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental and Science Education, vol. 19, no. 2, 2023, e2307. https://doi.org/10.29333/ijese/13045