With March Break upon us it seems like a good time to discuss informal learning, or the teachable moments that so frequently happen outside of the classroom. A new book from the American National Research Council, Learning Science in Informal Environments: People, Places, and Pursuits, looks at these educational opportunities, whether they are in everyday experiences, at the zoo or in a number of other situations.
Informal learning is not a new concept to parents or community groups, but informal science might seem new. For example, we often read with our children and libraries and bookstores often have reading groups, all of which help teach reading and language to children outside the classroom. Reading might be especially obvious because we all read, and I don’t think I’ve found a parent yet who doesn’t like reading to or with their child.
But science is a little different in that not everybody is a scientist and many people may not think they know enough about science to help teach their children. But the reality is that children experience countless opportunities to learn about science outside the classroom all the time. So what should we do when there isn’t a teacher around to help out?
This is where Learning Science in Informal Environments sheds some light. The authors have examined learning outcomes at four levels: individual, school, family and society. Their evidence is wide-ranging and looks at multiple disciplines and uses field-based research, visitor studies and both psychological and anthropological studies of learning.
One of the more interesting recommendations is for the front-line educators – who interact with students often and already teach science – model desirable science learning behaviour. The effect of this modeling actually fosters student interest in science.
Ultimately the book sets forth a sort of best practices for a range of settings where informal science learning can happen: museums, after-school programs, science and technology centers, media enterprises, aquariums, zoos, parks and botanical gardens. Their recommendations should prove useful for those who design or evaluate exhibits in these various settings, educators of all sorts and even community-based organizations.
Science is all around us, all the time. Developing our children’s curiosity about the world and the way things work can only be to their advantage. And we may learn a few things along the way, too.
